


Love and War

by SunnyBunny96



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27042244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyBunny96/pseuds/SunnyBunny96
Summary: AU - In 1944 Mulder and Scully are both headed to fight in France, Mulder as a sergeant and Scully as a nurse, when they meet travelling to France. From there it's a tale of love and war.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 52
Kudos: 140





	1. Chapter 1

Hi All,

This is my first x-files fanfic. I've loved the show for awhile, but always been intimidated by the calibre of x files fanfic writers, however I recently had an idea for a WW2 inspired story and wanted to see it through. So here I am, I hope you like it!

Note some of the events referenced are actual events, and I have done a lot of research to try and make my story accurate. The infantry/divisions Mulder and Scully are part of, were/are real and did participate in the events, however I have changed timelines slightly to work better for my idea.

A little background info, in this story Mulder is 25 and Scully is 23.

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6th of June 1944 – Pontllanfraith, Monmouth, Wales

"Charlie" Dana Scully squealed excitedly, flinging herself into her youngest brother's arms.

"Hey squirt, it's good to see you, I've missed you" he replied wrapping his arms tightly around his sister, and closing his eyes, wanting to savour the moment.

"I've missed you too, god look at you! I swear you've grown 2 inches since I last saw you" she said stepping back to take the sight of her brother in. On his 18th birthday, back in January, he'd enlisted in the navy wanting to follow in his father and older brother's footsteps. Their mother hadn't been happy of course, already fearing for the safety of her husband and eldest son, but he wouldn't be dissuaded, and she comforted herself with the fact that at least she'd have her girls with her. This of course made the conversation of her telling her Mother a month ago that she had also enlisted as a nurse and was going to go and help the troops in Europe, exceedingly difficult, but at least she had Melissa still at home.

"I did think you looked shorter than the last time I saw you" Charlie replied with a cheeky grin, quickly moving out of the way of Dana's hand, as she went hit him.

"Good things come in small packages" she stated mock glaring at her brother "and don't you forget it".

"How could I ever, when I've got you to remind me" he replied slinging his arm across her shoulders, before adding "it really is good to see you sis".

"It's good to see you too" she said smiling up at him before gesturing to the woman standing a few feet from them, and beckoning for the woman to come over, "Charlie, this is my friend Ellen, we met during induction training and will be stationed together in France"

"Nice to meet you" Ellen said cheerily "Dana's told me a lot about you".

"Nice to meet you too" Charlie replied holding out his hand, "and don't believe anything she says, she's just jealous that I'm the favourite".

"In your dreams" Dana said chuckling.

"Don't worry most of what she's said is good" Ellen replied smirking and shaking his hand.

"Yeah it's the most that worries me. Well I'll leave you two ladies to find your cabin and get settled. The guy over there near the gangway, with the clipboard will put you in the right direction of your cabin. They've moved us all around, so there should be bunks available for you all. Come find me when you get settled, I'll be in the mess at the back" Charlie said giving his sister another brief hug, before grinning and running onto the ship.

\-------------------------  
Once she and Ellen had located their small cabin which was set up to sleep eight, in four bunk beds, and found a space to put their limited belongings, they made their way to the galley. It took a while to navigate the different decks, but with some assistance from some friendly crew members they soon made it to their destination, and spotted the bright red hair of Charlie, who was playing a game of cards with some fellow officers.

"I hope you're not losing all your rations" Dana said sidling up to her brother's side, with a cheeky grin on her face, "need me to help you win them back?"

"You were just lucky, I swear Dad somehow helps you win" Charlie replied indigently as he placed his hand face down, and recalled how Dana hated to be left out of anything the boys were doing. So being the Daddy's girl she was, she'd convinced their father to let her play poker with them when he was on shore leave, and had gotten quite good over the years.

"I can't help it if you have an awful poker face" she said chuckling.

"You do have a pretty bad poker face Charlie" one of the men he was playing with piped up.

"Jeez thanks guys" Charlie replied with a hint of sarcasm, before suddenly saying "oh there he is" and waving to someone across the room and jumping up, "hey Mulder over here".

"Come on sis, I'd like you to meet someone" he said grabbing his sister's arm and dragging her towards the stranger.

"Dana, this is Fox Mulder, he's heading over with you guys to fight in France. I offered him my bunk, since you guys will have to start living in tents in a couple days, might as well get some good rest while you can" Charlie explained introducing a young man, probably only a couple years older than herself.

"Nice to meet you Fox, I'm Dana" she said smiling softly and holding out her hand. God he was handsome, she usually wasn't one to take too much notice of someone's appearance, but those deep hazel eyes and full pouty lips were giving her butterflies.

"Please call me Mulder, I'm not a fan of my first name" he replied grimacing slightly at the use of his first name, before startling slightly when he gripped her hand in his and felt electricity pass between the two. He took a proper look at her for the first time, his eyes locking with her piercing blue eyes. She wasn't traditionally the type of girl he'd find attractive, but he had to admit she was breathtaking, with the crimson hair framing her face, soft rosy lips and delicate profile.

"Okay, well then you can call me Scully" she said blushing slightly at the jolt of electricity she also felt.

"Okay Scully it is then….so which division are you with?" Mulder asked, eager to learn about the beautiful woman in front of him.

"The 42nd Field Hospital, well my friend Ellen and I are, what about you?" she replied suddenly remembering Ellen and Charlie were still standing next to them.

"I'll be with the 4th Infantry division" Mulder said, before adding "maybe we'll be stationed together at times".

"That would be fun, wouldn't it Dana" Ellen replied with a gleam in her eye, as her friend blushed again.

"I'd love to stay and talk to you more Dana, I mean all of you, but I promised my Sergeant Major I'd help him sort through the last of the intelligence information passed down to our infantry before we ship out 19:00, and that only gives me thirty minutes to find him, I'll see you around though, maybe we can meet up tomorrow" Mulder said hopefully, his eyes betraying his eagerness.

"That would be nice" Dana replied smiling, before proposing "how about we all meet here tomorrow at 11:00?"

"Sorry Sis, I'll be on patrol then" Charlie said slightly disappointed he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on his sister and Mulder together. He may only be 18, but he could tell there was something between the two, even after their short interaction.

"I'll be with Sister Mary, she asked me to review our on-board inventory, to double check we have all the supplies we will need, once we're on shore" Ellen added wanting to let the pair have some time to talk alone.

"I guess it will just be you and I then" Mulder replied smiling, "I'm looking forward to it".

"Me too" Scully replied mirroring his smile.  
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Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

Here is chapter two! Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, Izz, KoishiQ, Gaela and dr_scully for your comments, and thank you to those of you who left kudos. Your encouragement means a lot. 

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Mulder seemed nice, and he was easy on the eyes" Ellen whispered to Scully, as the trio headed back to where Charlie's friends were still sitting.

"I know what you're implying Ellen" Scully replied with a raised eyebrow and a hushed tone, "we just met the man".

"Oh come on Dana, the two of you couldn't take your eyes off each other" Ellen said chuckling at her friends attempt to ignore what had just transpired, "for a second there, I thought I was going to have to have to cough loudly, so you'd remember the two of you weren't alone".

"Sure fine whatever" Scully replied knowing she wasn't going to win this battle.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
7th of June 1944 - somewhere in the Celtic Sea

Scully smiled as she reached the top deck and looked out at the blue skies and sea. Taking a deep breath she let herself get lost in the smell of the sea and the sounds of the ship pushing through the waves.

"It's a beautiful day today, want to walk around on the top deck?" Mulder asked as he walked up behind Scully.

"Sounds good, I love the smell of the sea, reminds me of my childhood" Scully said slightly startled by his sudden appearance.

"Did you spend a lot of time near the sea?" Mulder asked curiously.

"Yes, my Dad is in the navy as well, so I spent my childhood in different ports around the country" Scully replied smiling fondly, "what about you, have you spent much time by the sea?"

"Every summer as a child we went to Martha's Vineyard" he said, not really wanting to get into the prosperity of his family, and his father's business dealings.

"Ahh a New Yorker then" Scully replied smiling.

"Born and raised. Spent all my life there except for the time I spent in England a few years ago" Mulder answered cheerfully.

"I'm guessing you're a Yankee's fan then?"

"Of course, ever since my father took me to my first game at the age of 4. I fell in love with the sport then. I still remember the crowd cheering as Babe Ruth hit a home run, it was amazing. Just tell me for my own sanity you're not a Red Sox fan, I'm not sure I could bare it if you were" Mulder said only partly joking.

"No, my brothers were more into football growing up, so although we watched baseball we never got attached to a particular team" Scully replied as they reached the bow of the ship and stopped to take in the view. They paused in silence for a moment, looking out across the never ending sea, sparkling in the sunlight, before Scully asked curiously "so what do you for work?"

"I'm an associate professor at Columbia University, I teach behavioural psychology, and sometimes the university loans me to the FBI in Washington to assist with criminal profiling" Mulder replied bashfully before asking, "you seem like a very intelligent woman, what do you do for work?"

"I'm a nurse and have been working at the MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Baltimore, but a few months ago I got offered a position as an emergency nurse at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York, and they've agreed to let me start once I return from the war" She said proudly.

"Wait so you live in New York as well?" Mulder asked suddenly excited at the prospect that maybe they would be able to see each other outside of the settings of war.

"Well not yet, before I left to travel to Europe, I was living with my Mother and sister in Baltimore. So once we're back in the states I'll move to New York, the hospital has some temporary accommodation I can use, while I find my own place" she said smiling inwardly at his barely concealed enthusiasm.

"Well if you need any help finding a place, let me know, I've got some connections who could find you a decent place that's not going to cost you an arm and a leg" Mulder replied thankful for once for some of his father's associates.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that. I had a brief look at the advertisements in the newspaper before I left, to let myself know what I was getting into, and I knew New York prices were high, but l nearly fell of my seat" Scully said laughing.

"Yeah l may have lived in New York most of my life, but even some of the prices can shock me" Mulder replied chuckling along with her. "Do you want to continue walking the rest of the way back to our starting point?"

"I'd love to, unfortunately the family trait of red hair, means I shouldn't stand in this sun too long, otherwise my skin will end up the same colour as my hair" Scully said chuckling at her own joke.

"After you then" Mulder said holding his right arm in front of him, while his left hand instinctively rested itself in the middle of her back.

Scully startled slightly at the feeling of his hand, and Mulder started to apologise, before she turned to him with a soft smile that conveyed to him it was okay. As their eyes interlocked they suddenly got lost in a world that just contained them, and not the hundreds of naval officers, nursers and army men milling about around them. They could have stood there for twenty minutes, or twenty seconds lost in each other, neither could tell, but eventually Mulder grinned back at her and settled his hand back on the small of her back, before they continued their walk.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
8th of June 1944 – somewhere in the English Channel

"I thought you'd be inside celebrating with the rest of the men and women" Scully said when she found Mulder leaning on the deck railing and looking out to sea. She'd just come from the galley where a large party was currently taking place to celebrate the final night aboard the ship before they landed on Utah beach tomorrow, and to say it was starting to get rowdy would be an understatement. They'd all spent the last 24 hours in and out of briefing sessions, preparation meetings and assisting with on board chores, so everyone was ready to let off some steam.

"I'm not one for big parties. I prefer something more intimate where I can hear myself think. So l thought I'd come out here to get some fresh air and look at the stars" Mulder replied moving slightly to the left as an invitation for Scully to join him at the rail.

"Well I happen to be pretty good at constellations, mind if I join you for a little bit?" she asked finding it slightly disconcerting that she really wanted his answer to be yes.

"Sure, my sister Samantha used to love stars. When our parents would let us, we'd lay a blanket outside and we'd spend hours lying side by side, while she pointed out how stars made different constellations" Mulder replied smiling at the memory.

"Oh you have a Sister?" Scully asked curiously.

"Um I did. She died when she was eight and I was twelve from tuberculosis. I've always felt guilty about it, since she caught it from me, but when I came down with it, she wouldn't listen to my parents and snuck in to keep me company. We both ended up in side by side beds, but unfortunately I got better while she slowly slipped away" he said sadly with a slight sigh.

"I'm sorry, that must have been awful" Scully replied worried she'd just put her foot in it.

"No, that's okay you weren't to know" Mulder said with a soft smile, wanting to assuage any awkward feelings she may have about his revelation.

"But still that must have been a very hard thing to go through at such a young age" she replied placing her hand lightly on his right arm, in a gesture of comfort.

Mulder looked down to where her hand was resting, and gently placed one of his hands atop hers, before locking eyes with Scully. He smiled at her, his eyes shining, and gently squeezed her hand, as a smile also began to grace her face. He knew then he'd never tire of seeing her smile.  
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Please review :)


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter three is here :)

Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, and KoishiQ for your comments, and thank you to those of you who left kudos. I love hearing that you're enjoying the story.

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!

\------------------------------------------------------  
9th of June 1944 – Utah beach, France

In the early hours of the morning, their ship reached it's destination offshore of Utah beach, and all non-naval personnel began the processes of disembarking via smaller boats at low tide. Unfortunately even though the boats got as close as they possibly could, everyone inevitably had to wade through at least some water to make it to land, however other then everyone being a little wet, their arrival was relatively smooth, given the US infantry had taken control of the beach a few days ago in the D-Day landings.

Once all the officers, nurses and doctors had made it to shore along with their supplies, the group proceeded inland on foot a couple of miles, to their next destination, the outskirts of Le Grand Chemin.

"How was Charlie?" Ellen asked Scully as they walked side by side.

"He was good, nearly crushed me with the force of his hug, and of course we'll miss each other, but we were lucky to have the chance to spend some time together" Scully replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, we've only been away for a couple of months, but I'm really starting to miss my family, even my Mother who won't stop asking when I'm going to settle down with a nice young man" Ellen commented chuckling, before asking "have you seen Mulder yet today? I'm surprised he hasn't sought you out already".

"No I haven't. I wish you wouldn't say that, I don't know why you think he's interested in me, we're just friends" Scully replied trying to brush of her friends comment.

"Oh come on, you should see the way the guy looks at you, not to mention the way you look at him. Speaking of 3'o clock, lover boy is on his way" Ellen said with a smirk.

"What? Don't call him that" Scully replied blushing and discreetly looking towards her right to see Mulder coming their way with a grin on his face.

"Hi ladies, I thought since we're heading the same direction, I could walk with you" Mulder said, knowing his excuse was lame, but it was the only thing he could think of quickly in order to make sure he and Scully could spend some more time together.

"Hi Mulder, sure the more the merrier" Scully replied smiling brightly up at him.

"Hi Mulder, sure the more the merrier" Ellen mimicked under her breath, earning her a pointed stare from Scully.

"So the boys tell me that they're transporting a good chunk of your equipment up to the planned base, so you guys should have a pretty good set up when we arrive. They also told me you'll be taking over the clearing station already there, so there will already be a few wounded guys to take care of" Mulder said making conversation.

"Well at least we have the next half hour walking in this lovely weather, before we get thrown into the thick of it. Good thing we came in summer, I'd hate to trudge through the cold, after getting wet coming off the boats" Ellen commented wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"Definitely, that along with the camping in below freezing temperatures, can't imagine it's fun. Although at least with multiple person tents, it will be like one big sleepover" Scully replied chuckling, before adding "I'll admit part of me is looking forward to the camping though, it's been years since I've had a sleepover".

"I'm a little bit jealous, I'd much prefer to join your sleepover then the boys" Mulder said jokingly, although if he was honest, he'd definitely rather join the girl's sleepover, especially if Scully was there.

\------------------------------------------------------

10th of June 1944 – outskirts of Le Grand Chemin.

"My Sergeant Major says we're staying put for the moment, while the 9th infantry pushes ahead a clears the way first, so I thought I'd come and see if you guys needed a hand" Mulder said as he came up to Scully, who he spotted wrapping bandages around a young soldiers foreman. He'd immediately spotted her when he walked into the medical tent, with her bright red hair showing up easily against the white nurse's cap she wore, even in the poor lighting of the tent.

"We definitely do, we have only been in operation for fifteen hours, but we have over 300 patients already and it's ten o'clock at night" Scully replied as she finished tending to the solider, and grabbed the supplies she was using, before blowing a tuft of hair out of her line of sight.

Mulder smiled at the sight of her, and couldn't help but think the action was adorable.

"What?" Scully asked confused, noticing his grin.

"Nothing. Well where do you want…"Mulder started to say before he was cut off by a loud whistling noise, before the area adjacent to them and only two miles away suddenly lit up in an explosion. They all immediately crouched down and Mulder instinctively covered Scully's body with his to protect her.

They next few moments were a blur as they all went into fight or flight mode, but once the initial explosion was over and the fear had started to dissipate somewhat, Mulder suddenly realised how close his body was to Scully's. Clearing his throat awkwardly he slowly got up, before holding his hand out to help Scully up, the pair still standing closer than most would find comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Mulder asked, his eyes darting over her features in case she'd hurt herself in the process of sheltering for safety.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little shocked. I know they prepare us for this, but it's a completely different thing to actually experience" she replied slightly ruffled.

"I understand, that rattled me a little too" Mulder said honestly. Without thinking he took her hand in his and gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand, in a gesture of comfort. His heart leaping slightly when Scully graced him with a soft smile and squeezed his hand.

"Okay people this is what we trained for, we've just got radio confirmation that there are a stream of enemy planes heading in our direction. We're the only functioning medical installation in the area, casualties are likely to be high, we've already got some members of the 9th Infantry division on route to us, so we need everyone operating at full capacity, it's going to be all hands on deck" the Commanding Officer announced loudly.

At the sound of the commanding officers booming voice they jumped apart, their hands separating, as they looked around uncomfortably.

"I better get ready for the new patients" Scully said awkwardly, "I'll talk to you later".

"Yeah, I'll go ask the commander where I can help. I'll see you later" Mulder replied watching her disappear into the crowd of doctors and nurses.

The next two hours were a whirlwind with enemy planes dropping bombs in the nearby field and trees. Luckily though after the initial explosion, no bombs were dropped closer than five miles. Unfortunately however that still meant you could hear the sound of bombs dropping and see the explosion light up the night sky. In that time frame they admitted another 300 patients and were at full capacity. Mulder helped where he could, mainly getting the supplies to which ever nurse or doctor needed them, but even after the worst of the bombardment was over, they were still receiving a substantial number of patients, and were having to transfer any slightly wounded soldiers to the Amphibious Medical Battalion set up on the beach nearby.

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Please review, I really appreciate it


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four time! Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, Lostmarbles, KoishiQ, ScullyX (yiyeXtrustno1) and dr_scully for commenting :) A thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
18th of June 1944 – outskirts of Le Grand Chemin.

The next week was much less eventful then their first forty eight hours in combat, with admissions running at around seventy five injuries a day, but still ranging from small lacerations to serious surgeries. This meant the associated medical and field units were able to settle into some form of routine, and have some time to catch their breath.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Mulder said when he spotted Scully sitting at the edge of the camp, looking out towards the fields.

"Good, just came out here to get away from some of the noise" Scully replied briefly looking his direction.

"Oh, I can go if you want" Mulder said feeling slightly like a wounded puppy.

"No that's okay, come sit with me" she replied patting the ground next to her and smiling softly up at him.

"Your shift finished now?" Mulder asked, once he'd made himself comfortable next to Scully.

"No, just a break, the night nurses aren't on for a few hours. I'm exhausted already though" Scully explained. The nurses had been split into two shifts, the day nurses would work from 8am to 8pm, with a rotating break for nurses somewhere between 2pm and 5pm, while the night nurses would work the opposite.

"Well I may have something that might make you feel a bit better" Mulder replied pulling something out of his pocket, before adding "look what I got today in my rations".

"A Hershey bar" Scully exclaimed excitedly, her eyes lighting up. She wouldn't usually admit to it, but she had a bit of a sweet tooth, and after a long day the possibility of chocolate sounded like bliss.

"Yep, it's a D ration bar, not the usual store bought version, but I've heard they still taste pretty good. I thought we could share it" Mulder said smiling at her and unwrapping the bar, before breaking it in half and handing a piece to her.

"Thank you" Scully replied giggling like a school girl, before taking a bite and moaning in delight. Mulder nearly chocked at the sound, his eyes going wide, shifting uncomfortably at the way the sound made him feel. He didn't really know what to say, but he knew he'd be replaying that sound in his mind later.

"So I just heard we're moving 16 miles onto Saint Sauveur le Vicomte tomorrow, and it looks like you're platoon will be going with us and setting up in a Hospital nearby the town, so you're stuck with me a bit longer. They've called in the trucks over at the evacuation hospital, to help transport all the equipment" Mulder commented trying to get his mind away from the lewd places it was heading.

"I'm glad. I enjoy our talks" Scully replied honestly.

"That's good, I worry you'd gotten sick of me" Mulder said somewhat jokingly.

"Never, I like hearing about your life, although you seem to always change the subject when I bring up your parents. Seems I know so many small details about experiences you've had, but not basic information about the people who raised you" Scully replied genuinely curious.

"Well what do you want to know?" Mulder asked not wanting to disappoint her.

"How about we just start off with the basics, name, age and occupation" Scully said eager to hear this new information.

"Okay well my Mother's name is Teena, she's 48 and a housewife. She spends a lot of her days going to different book clubs, bridge games and the likes. My father is Bill, he's 51 and he works in a bank on Wall Street" Mulder replied hoping that would satisfy Scully, and he wouldn't have to go into the lack of relationship he had with his parents.

"A Wall Street Bank" Scully repeated the pieces falling together, "wait your Dad is Bill Mulder, one of the founders of M&S Bank".

"Why didn't you say anything?" Scully asked confused, she'd thought he'd be proud that his father had built a business from the ground up.

"Let's just say he's a much better business man, then father" Mulder said grimacing.

"I'm sorry Mulder" Scully replied reaching over and grasping his hand in hers, hating that she'd made him uncomfortable.

"It's okay, it's not your fault" Mulder said giving her a small reassuring smile.

"Still I feel as if I'm putting my foot in it, and bringing up unpleasant memories for you" Scully replied dejectedly.

"Really it's okay, he wasn't always like he is now. He changed when my sister passed away, threw himself into his work, began drinking a lot and wasn't home very often, before that he used to always be home at 5:30 on the dot, ready to play with Sam and I in the backyard until dinner. So it's not all bad memories, just the more recent ones" Mulder said shifting closer to her and placing his arm around her shoulders.

"I have a feeling you're not going to let me feel bad, so I might as well quit while I'm ahead" Scully replied chuckling, before smiling softly at him and resting her head on his shoulder.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
They left early the next morning to begin their trek to Saint Sauveur le Vicomte and the convoy reached their destination by midday, and of course once again Mulder had found an excuse to make the journey alongside Scully. Grinning at how cute she looked when she showed off her new combat field uniform. They'd quickly realised the original uniforms they'd been issued were impractical for front line combat, and the army began rolling out a more appropriate uniform, which included a dark olive drab service jacket, skirt, trousers and cap, along with a khaki shirt and tie, and brown shoes.

Later that evening while Scully lay on her cot trying to sleep, she heard Ellen shuffling next to her.

"Today was nice" Ellen whispered reminiscing on how the people of Saint Sauveur le Vicomte happily greeted them upon their arrival. This was the first liberated town their unit had actually gone into, with them only staying on the outskirts of their previous location.

"Yes it was, even though there was rubble all around them, they were so positive" Scully replied thinking of the young woman who had greeted her with a grin on her face, showing her around the village as if everything was normal, and her home hadn't been destroyed recently.

"You know what I'm looking forward to" Ellen said turning to face Scully, who she could just make out in the darkness of the tent.

"What?" Scully asked curious to know the answer, but also wary of what might coming flying out of her mouth, since her friend seemed to derive so much pleasure from teasing her.

"When they liberate Paris and we can get a day pass to go there. We're going to have so much fun seeing all the sights, dancing at the clubs, meeting cute French boys, well you'll be pining over Mulder, but I'll happily make friends with enough for the both of us" Ellen said laughing as she pictured the scene.

"I think that's a little way off yet Ellen, the allies haven't even captured Cherbourg yet" Scully replied choosing to ignore her friends comment and instead provide a more logical opinion.

"You're always so practical, but it's something nice to think about and keep me going, when I'm having to assist in surgeries to remove gun shots from our soldiers" Ellen said with a slightly sigh.

"You're right, we need these dreams to keep us going through the tuff times" Scully replied thoughtfully.

"I know I am, I'm always right, especially about the fact Mulder's in love with you" Ellen said before squealing as Scully wacked her with her pillow.  
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Please review, I love getting feedback


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five time :)

Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, and KoishiQ for your comments, and thank you to those of you who left kudos. I love hearing that you're enjoying the story.

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!

\---------------------------------------------------------------

4th of July 1944 – En route to North Carentan, France.

Their time in Saint Sauveur le Vicomte was relatively uneventful in comparison to their previous location, with only 22 admissions during a two week period. So it was no surprise when word came that it was time for the 4th Infantry and 83rd Infantry along with the second and third platoon of the 42nd field hospital, to move south towards Carentan. Unfortunately the six hour, 18.5 mile journey to their new destination, was not a pleasant one, with the group swarmed by mosquitoes and the temperature rising as they moved south. Luckily however they were allowed a small 4th of July celebration that night, before various companies from the divisions were set to head further south west and engage the Germans in the village of Sainteny, which was currently being defended by the S.S.

"How are your bites doing?" Mulder asked Scully when he found her sitting outside her tent applying a wet rag to the mosquito bites on her arms.

"Still itching like crazy, I know I'm not supposed to itch them, but jeez, those buggers were vicious. I'm still not sure how I managed to get eaten alive, yet you, who was standing right next to me for the entire journey, came out relatively unscathed" Scully replied looking up at Mulder, slightly exasperated.

"What can I say, misquotes don't like the Mulder family. Maybe some beer will help you forget about the bites. They were able to grab us a new shipment before we left, so there should be enough for us all to celebrate and have a couple of lagers" Mulder said holding his hand out to help her up.

"Well it can't hurt" Scully replied grinning and accepting his offered hand.

"That's the spirit, plus we can't not celebrate the 4th of July, I might even let you beat me at poker" Mulder said gently placing his hand on her back, and guiding her towards the mess tent.

"Yeah right, if anything it will be the other way around" Scully replied laughing.

"Okay probably true, but I'm getting better" Mulder said as they walked into the mess tent, and over to where the beer was located.

"Could we get to lagers please?" Mulder asked the individual in charge of distributing the alcohol, before taking the two beverages handed to him and giving one to Scully.

"Oh I see Ellen over there with your Sergeant Major, let's go sit with them" Scully said grabbing Mulder's hand and pulling him in Ellen's direction, knowing he would need some encouragement to go and spend his free time talking with a superior.

"Mulder" his Sergeant Major acknowledged when they arrived at the table.

"Sergeant Major Skinner, how are you?" Mulder replied as he sat with Scully on the other side of the table.

"Not too bad, nice to be enjoying a little bit of home" Walter Skinner said taking a sip of beer, "how about you?"

"Oh you know, can't complain" Mulder replied awkwardly, before looking over to Scully who was engrossed with her conversation with Ellen. It was going to be a long night.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, dance with me" Mulder implored as he heard Bing Crosby's Swinging on a Star, start playing on the record player they'd somehow managed to acquire for the night.

"You just couldn't wait to get away from him" Scully teased as he led her to the makeshift dance floor and placed his arms around her waist.

"What, I loved talking to him. I just couldn't wait to get my arms around you" Mulder replied grinning.

"Oh brother" Scully said rolling her eyes and placing her arms around his neck, "you're such a charmer, I bet you say that to all the ladies".

"Only you" Mulder replied honestly suddenly becoming sombre and looking her in the eyes. She didn't quite know how to reply to his statement, feeling flustered at the emotions it brought up within her. She swallowed and looked around at the other couples on the make shift dance floor, before locking eyes with him, her expression conveying what she didn't feel comfortable voicing.

She understood the meaning behind his words, but she wasn't ready to confront her feelings yet.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

5th of July 1944 – Northern Carentan, France.

"We're heading off shortly" Mulder told Scully, when he found her waiting by the mess tent at 5:00am. Her shift didn't start for another three hours, but there was no way she was going to miss out on saying goodbye to Mulder, and of course Mulder had been keeping his eyes out to see if Scully was around.

"Please be careful" Scully said fixing the collar of his jacket.

"I'll try my best" Mulder replied placing his hand atop her hand resting on his collar.

"You better, we've got lots of poker games to play, and you still haven't managed to beat me yet" Scully said trying to lighten the mood.

"Well then I'll have to make sure I come back, so I can wipe that smug grin off of your face" Mulder replied smiling, before leaning down to give her a quick hug goodbye.

"See you soon" Scully said hugging him back.

"See you" Mulder replied waving and walking backwards towards where his regiment was assembling.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

6th of July 1944 – Northern Carentan, France.

"John, jeez what is going on out there" Scully said when she saw one of the men in Mulder's battalion being wheeled into the medical tent with a gunshot wound in his right arm. He was the thirtieth solider to be admitted to the field hospital in the last 30 minutes.

"We got to North of St-Lo and then started progressing into enemy territory. We were immediately hit by fire from the S.S, they'd set up a solid defensive line and we were instructed to stand ready. Nothing happened though for the next forty-five minutes, so we started to move forward again, and then the German's were firing at us again, part of the regiment, had to withdraw. I watched our men starting falling to the ground, hit with the fire" John explained clutching his arm in pain, as Scully wrapped a tornachy around the injured arm to slow down the blood loss.

"Oh my, is Mulder okay?" Scully asked feeling intense worry wash over her.

"I don't know, the last I saw of him he was sheltering behind a hedgerow and making a plan to continue on the offensive" John replied wishing he could offer her more comforting information.

"Come on, let's get you sorted, you're going to need surgery to remove that bullet" Scully said taking a deep breath and trying to focus on the task in front of her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Over the next few days, with better weather the US army brought in air support to assist with their offensive and the army was able to use the farming hedgerows in the area to progress south out of the German's line of sight. The Germans however still stood strong and launched concentrated artillery fire on the soldiers, resulting in over 150 admissions to the field hospital.

Every time a new patient arrived at the medical tent, Scully felt her heart stop for a minute as she checked to see if Mulder was the injured solider.

It wasn't until five days later on the 10th of July, that word reached the camp, as to the US army's stabilisation of the front line, with the German's unable to continue their counterattack. The men on the front line were to be relieved for alternative regiments, and Scully would finally be able to see if Mulder would return.

"Thank God" Scully exclaimed when she saw Mulder walk into camp, rushing over and embracing him in a fierce hug.

"Hi" Mulder replied wrapping his arms around her and drinking in the feel and smell of her.

"Are you okay?" Scully asked separating herself from him and looking him over meticulously for any injuries.

"Yeah a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing compared to some of the other guys" Mulder replied closing his eyes and grimacing at the memory of one of his fellow soldiers with blood rushing down their face and lifeless eyes.

"Come on let's get you into some clean clothes, and have a hot meal" Scully said wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Will you stay with me for a while?" Mulder asked his eyes pleading with her.

"Of course, my shift ended an hour ago, I'll stay with you as long as you want" Scully replied grabbing his hand and squeezing it comfortingly.

\---------------------------------------------------------------  
Please review, I really appreciate it :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six is here. Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee and Mia for commenting :) 

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
23rd of July 1944 – Northern Carentan, France.

"What's wrong?" Ellen asked Scully as they lay side by side on their cots. She been listening to her friend tossing and turning for the past twenty minutes.

"Word came in today that we'll be moving in a bit over a week to Percy, but it won't be with Mulder's division this time, he'll be headed to Saint-Lô to be a part of operation Cobra. Their leaving in a couple of days" Scully replied quietly.

"I was afraid this time would come" Ellen said sighing and turning to face Scully, "Dana you should tell him how you feel. You were lucky last time that he came back relatively unscathed, but you might not be so lucky next time and who knows when you'll next see each other".

"We're just friends Ellen, I don't want to disrupt the current status quo and lose what we have" Scully replied nervously.

"Look I know you're not great with you feelings, and you're afraid to get hurt, but trust me Dana, you'll regret it if you don't say anything" Ellen said grabbing her friends hand, "I'm not asking you to run out and go find him now, just promise me you'll at least think about what I'm saying".  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
24th of July 1944 – Northern Carentan, France.

"Hey" Mulder said in greeting, when walked into the mess tent to find Scully grabbing something to eat before her shift began.

"Hey" Scully replied with a small smile.

"Want one?" Mulder asked producing a small bag full of sunflower seeds, and sitting down next to her.

"I'm good thanks, where did you even get more of those?" Scully replied confused, he'd only been complaining a few days ago that he'd run out.

"Traded a pack of cigarettes for them, with one of the local farmers" Mulder said grinning and placing a seed in his mouth.

"See I told you you'd find lots of uses for all those cigarettes you keep getting in your rations" Scully replied, unlike most men and women Mulder had a strong hatred of smoking, and had been trading the cigarettes for food that wasn't pre-packaged and meant to last extended periods of time.

"So did you hear?" Mulder asked, broaching the reason he'd sought her out before 6:30am.

"Yeah I did, my platoon's not going to be following you to your next destination" Scully replied disappointedly and stabbing a piece of egg with her fork.

"Yeah, I wish we could still stay together. I guess we've had a really good run the last couple of months, but we'll write to each other and maybe we'll get stationed together again, or we can always try to get day passes at the same time and go to one of the villages. Plus we'll still only be a few hours from each other" Mulder said rambling.

"I know, it's just that I got used to having you around and I'm going to miss my friend" Scully replied sadly.

"I'll miss you too" Mulder said honestly.

"What time do you head out tomorrow?" she asked suddenly feeling as if the conversation was heading towards territory, she still didn't know if she wanted to venture into.

"We're scheduled to start marching around 11am" Mulder replied before grabbing her hand and saying "come on, grab you dried fruit bar, and we can go for a quick walk down to the well, so we can talk in private, before your shift starts".

"Okay" she replied standing up. She noticed a few soldiers and nursers who were nearby staring at them, but she was used to it by now, they were both well aware of the rumours that flew around camp about them. Ellen had also informed her there was a betting pool running as to when they were going to sleep together, but if they could the pair preferred to talk without prying eyes.

"You know, I saw a ghost last night" Mulder commented as they walked out of the mess tent.

"Ghosts aren't real Mulder" Scully replied.

"Tell that to the ghost I saw" he exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh brother" Scully replied rolling her eyes.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
"How are you feeling today John?" Scully asked when she went to check on John Byres, the soldier in Mulder's regiment who had been shot during the infantry's advancement a couple weeks ago. He'd been recovering well from the surgery to remove the bullet, when an infection took hold of the wound, leaving him with a fever and in a critical condition.

"Feel good as new. Can't wait for you to spring me from this joint, so I can join the boys" John replied hopefully.

"Well unfortunately the wound still hasn't healed up properly and your fever only broke yesterday, so the doctor wants to wait another couple days, just to make sure you don't take another turn for the worse" Scully said before starting to redress his wound.

"How's the wounded soldier doing?" Scully heard, turning around to find John's friends Ringo Langley and Melvin Frohike strolling into the medical tent.

"Getting there" Scully told the pair, "he shouldn't be stuck here too much longer".

"Hello Dana, you're looking beautiful as usual" Frohike commented smiling at her.

"Thank you Melvin" Scully replied indulging Melvin's crush.

"You know you can come visit me Melvin when Dana's not on shift" John teased his friend.

"Geez man, can't a guy just check on his friend" Frohike replied blushing.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
Ten hours later found Scully sighing as she trudged out of the medical tent, glad her shift was finally over and her patients were properly handed over to the night shift nurses. All she wanted now was some hot food and to crawl into bed. She began making her way to the mess tent when she heard a loud thud nearby, turning towards the noise, she found it was the result of some soldiers hauling items in preparation of the move tomorrow. She smiled at the men and waved, knowing she probably wouldn't see them again anytime soon.

Suddenly the conversation she'd had with Ellen the previous night decided to take up residence in her mind, and wasn't going move on anytime soon. Without much thought she turned around and quickly headed towards where she hoped she'd find Mulder.

As soon as she spotted him near the entrance to the tent she loudly called out "Mulder".

"What? Is everything okay?" Mulder asked concerned, his eyes wide with worry as she rushed towards him.

"Everything is fine. Um I've just been thinking, and well look I'm just going to get straight to the point" she perched herself on her tippy toes, and place a hand on either side of his face, before pressing her lips against his. He froze in shock for a second before responding to the kiss, one hand tangling itself in her hair, while the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him. For a few moments the pair stood there, their lips interlocked in a gentle kiss before it deepened, becoming more desperate as they clung to each other, their lips sliding against each other.

"Wow" Mulder said a goofy grin gracing his face when they finally pulled apart.

"I didn't want you to leave without knowing how I feel" Scully replied looking up at him with shining eyes.

"I'm so glad, I feel the same, you're my one in two billion" Mulder said embracing her in a hug and kissing the top of her head.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
25th of July 1944 – Northern Carentan, France.

The day started off with the thunderous sound of planes flying overhead, nearly everyone who wasn't already up, had come out of their tents to watch the procession of around 600 allied fighter bombers fly overhead at 6am. From then on the base was a scene of constant movement, with soldiers loading trucks with supplies, tanks preparing for the journey ahead and soldiers making sure everything was in order before they set off.

"Hey" Scully said as she came up to where Mulder was double checking he had everything in his pack.

"Hey" Mulder replied grinning and placing his pack on the ground.

"Thought I'd come see you off" Scully said smiling and taking his hand in hers.

"I was hoping you'd stop by, otherwise I was going to have to risk annoying your commanding officer at the medical tent with my presence again. He doesn't seem to be too fond of how many times I like to visit" Mulder replied smiling, before suddenly wrapping his arms around her waist and crashing his lips against hers. She was stunned momentarily, before she smiled into the kiss, and wrapped her hands around his neck. She heard wolf whistling coming from some of the men around them, but right now she didn't care, she just wanted to imprint this moment in her memory.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------  
I hope you enjoyed it, they're finally making some romantic progress. Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven! Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, Lostmarbles and C.Wilkins for your comments, and thank you to those of you who left kudos. Your encouragement means a lot.

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!  
\------------------------------------------------------  
29th of August 1944 – Paris, France.

A few days after Mulder's division moved out, Scully along with her division followed the 9th Infantry Division 11 hours south to Percy. The fighting there had been relatively sedate in comparison to their previous location, with 38 patients treated during the two week period they stayed in the city. They ended up having more trouble with the bees in the area then enemy fighters, eventually needing to get in a shipment of mosquito and insect bars in order to ward off the creatures. With the progression of the allied forces it wasn't long before the group moved 17 hours south east to La Ferté-Macé on the 17th of August. Once again the field hospital was provided a slightly reprieve with a total of 16 patients admitted to the field hospital in an eleven day period.

The couple had been corresponding via letters ever since Mulder had headed to Saint-Lô. Writing to Scully was the one good part of his day, where he could put the struggles of the day out of his head and just focus on thoughts of her. He'd write to her about the areas they'd passed through, and how he couldn't stop laughing when Frohike fell into the water they were wading through on their journey, as well as how much he was missing her and how his division had been the first to enter Paris, although he was sure that last part was probably censored. When Scully wrote him a letter informing him she'd received a week off in a couple of weeks, to ensure she was able to perform her duties and look after her patients without falling asleep on her feet, Mulder pulled a few strings with his Sergeant Major to get the weekend when she'd be on leave off as well. So the pair we're planning to meet up in Paris and spend the weekend together sightseeing.

"Where did he say he'd meet you?" Ellen asked Scully as the pair rode into Paris on bicycles. It had been quite the journey with a two hour drive on a military truck passing by their camp on the way to the outskirts of Versailles, before another one hour bike ride to reach their destination.

"Since neither of us have been to Paris before, we agreed to meet at the most obvious landmark, the Eiffel Tower" Scully replied with a smile not being able to contain her excitement.

"How romantic" Ellen said waggling her eyebrows.

"More practical than anything" Scully replied choosing to ignore her friend's insinuation.

"Well don't do anything I wouldn't do" Ellen said as they arrived at the Hotel Luteita, where they'd be staying for the week and where Scully would meet up with Ellen when it was time for Mulder get back to his duties.

"That doesn't limit me to much" Scully replied with a smirk before riding away.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
When she rode up to the imposing landmark it wasn't hard to miss the tall gentleman with a goofy grin on his face and a small bouquet of flowers in his hand, that looked like they'd been pulled from the ground nearby.

Not caring about what could possibly happen to her bike, as soon as she was close enough she quickly hoped off and dropped it to the ground, before racing over to Mulder with a grin matching his own. For a second they stood in front of each other, just taking in the sight, before Mulder whispered "God I've missed you" cupping her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that left her breathless.

"You look even more beautiful then I remember" Mulder said admiringly, as he looked at how the sun was making her auburn locks shine.

"I can't look that good Mulder, I spent two hours in the back of an army truck and then rode for an hour, I'm pretty sure I have leaves in my hair" Scully replied laughing trying to deflect the complement.

"Nope, the leaves just add to your beauty" Mulder said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well then you look pretty good yourself" Scully replied placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Come on let's" Mulder said grasping her hand in his, "what do you want to do first?"

"Well since we're already here how about we start off with visiting the Eiffel tower, well after I lock my bike up. Probably not a good idea to leave it lying over there" Scully suggested squeezing his hand excitedly.

"Sounds great" Mulder replied kissing the top of her head.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
They spent the day exploring the city, and being the typical touristy couple. They'd gone to see the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Palace of Versailles as well as the Arc de Triomphe, and watched the 28th Infantry division march past on their way to their new position, the crowd around them cheering excitedly. The city was alive, ever since it had been liberated from German control it had been like one big party. Dinner had been at a small intimate restaurant in the heart of the city, where they could pretend for a moment they weren't in the middle of fighting a world war. They were trying to take things slow, really they hadn't even dated properly yet, although they knew everything about each other, but everything was so new and with the candle lit dinner, and electricity passing between them, it was hard to keep their hands off of each other.

As soon as the hotel room door closed behind them she found herself pressed up against the door, her hands clutching to Mulder's shoulders as he lifted her off the ground and made his way over to the bed. Scully giggled as she fell onto the mattress, pulling Mulder down on top of her and fusing their lips together.

Panting Mulder pulled away and rested his arms on either side of her, "we should stop before I can't make myself".

"I know we agreed to take it slow, but I don't want to wait Mulder. This might be reckless but we're in the middle of a war and I don't want to regret not making the most out of our time together. You mean so much to me" Scully replied, not quite ready to tell him she loved him, even though deep down she knew it.

"If you're sure" Mulder said searching her face to make sure this was really what she wanted.

"I am" Scully replied grabbing his shirt and pulling him into a hungry kiss.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
"Morning" Mulder said smiling at Scully as he watched her eyes flutter open.

"Morning" Scully replied stretching.

"I could get used to this" Mulder said leaning over to kiss her softly.

"Just don't tell Ellen, she'd have a field day if she knew we'd spent the night together" Scully replied chuckling.

"As long as you don't mention anything to Frohike, don't want to break the poor guy's heart further" Mulder said laughing.

The couple spent their second day together much like the first, visiting the sites in the city and watching all the pageantry, before watching the sunset from the balcony of her room.

"How about I go grab us something to eat and we can have a sort of picnic in your room. There's this little restaurant only a few minutes away that I found, it has delicious food even with the rationing and does take away too" Mulder suggested once the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Sounds great" Scully replied eagerly.

"Okay, while I'm gone, why don't you take advantage of the bath they have here" Mulder said with a smile.

"Well I won't say no to a bath, it's been nearly fourth months since I've been able to relax in a tub" Scully replied giving him a quick peck.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
Thirty minutes later Mulder arrived back at Scully's room to find her sitting on the bed crying, "what's wrong" Mulder asked rushing over to her.

"Um I" Scully started to reply faltering, "I just heard some news over the wireless. Remember how I said my Dad and older brother are also in the navy".

"Yeah" Mulder replied nervously.

"Well umm, my Dad is stationed on the submarine USS Harder in the Philippines, one of the other US submarines in the area heard 15 rapid dep charges explode on the 24th of August, and all communications have been lost with my Dad's submarine. They don't know for sure, but it's presumed the submarine sank with all crew on board" Scully said her breath hitching as tears streamed down her face.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry" Mulder replied pulling her into a hug, before manoeuvring them so they were lying down and soothing her until her tears began to wane.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want this to be how we spent our last night together, before we had to back to reality" Scully whispered tracing a finger across the outline of his face.

"Don't be sorry, I'm just glad I get to spend time with you, and get to be here for you" Mulder replied tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
If you'd like to read an NSFW add on to this chapter, I'll being posting it soon! I hope you enjoyed it, please review.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back, sorry for the delay I've had two dinners, a Christmas party and a lunch in the last week, and didn't have time to finish and proof read this chapter. We'll be back to the usual update time next week
> 
> Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee, Lostmarbles, KoishiQ and Maria for reviewing! Forewarning too, this chapter is a bit more of a filler chapter and jumps a bit through time, so I can set up the next chapters where I'd like them.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!

_31 st of August 1944 – Paris, France. _

“Scully” Mulder whispered touching Scully’s shoulder gently to try and wake her.

“Hmm” Scully replied still half asleep.

“I’ve got to get back now” Mulder said brushing a few strands of her hair off her face and tucking them behind her ear.

“What, oh” Scully replied suddenly sitting up and looking around blearily.

“It’s okay, don’t get up. I just didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye one last time” Mulder said kissing her forehead.

“I told you, don’t say goodbye, it’s I’ll see you later” Scully replied with a cute little pout.

“Sorry, I’ll see you later” Mulder corrected, before bringing his lips down to hers to give her a soft but powerful kiss.

“Make sure you take care of yourself and stay safe” Scully said when their lips parted, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

“I will. You’ve got to take care of yourself too, I’m not the only one who’s in the line of fire, we seen how close those bombs get to the medical tents” Mulder replied giving her another kiss.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to stay safe too” Scully said smiling softly.

“That’s all I ask. Oh and if you check your jacket pocket, you’ll find my next letter to you, but first enjoy a sleep in, you won’t get many of those in the coming months” Mulder replied kissing the top of her head, before giving her another hug and smiling at her as he exited the hotel room.

\---------------------------------------------

“How was your couple days with Mulder?” Ellen asked later that day, when she and Scully met up for lunch later that day.

“Good, it was nice to spend some time together where we didn’t have to worry about the war and our duties” Scully replied smiling.

“Anything interesting happen?” Ellen asked curiously, sensing her friend was holding back some information from her.

“Not really, we just had a nice time together, did the typically touristy couple things” Scully replied trying to look as innocent as possible.

“Okay, well I’m glad you guys had fun” Ellen said deciding to let his one slide, recognising Scully wasn’t ready to tell her what had transpired over the last couple of days.

“Thanks, so what did you get up to in the last couple of days?” Scully asked as they reached a small café that had great soup and stew. Paris had been struggling with food supply since their liberation, however a couple of days ago allied food convoys entered the capital bringing nearly 1000 tons of food a day, quickly alleviating the food shortage and making the towns a restaurants, diners and café’s hub of activity.

“Oh you know, just visited some sites, met a few people” Ellen replied with a wink as she opened the café door.

\---------------------------------------------

_15 th of September 1944 - Laon, France._

After their stay in Paris Scully’s platoon embarked on a 24 hour move east, until they were 2 miles outside of Laon assisting the entire V corps in the Siegfried Line campaign. Although Mulder’s infantry division comprised V corps at the time, unlike the previous months, the platoon was not attached to a particular division, and Scully and Mulder were not stationed together. It didn’t take long before they were back in the thick of the fighting, admitting over 400 patients in only 48 hours after being established.

As the fighting continued a slight change in position was required and Scully and her platoon moved again, this time closer to Laon. The platoon still supported V corps as an evacuation hospital, as the soldiers liberated the remainder of France, before moving into Belgium as well as Luxembourg and continuing with their advance.

“I’m exhausted” Scully said yawning and collapsing onto her cot, a dried fruit bar in her hand. They’d admitted over 600 patients since their move, a week and half ago, and it didn’t look like it was going to ease up any time soon. They were running at well over capacity and making the nurses and doctors feel like they were back at Utah Beach.

“Me too, I don’t remember the last time I had more than a quick nap” Ellen replied sighing, before adding “oh before I forget, they couldn’t find you today, so they gave me your letters” and handing Scully the pieces of paper.

“At least that’s one thing to look forward to” Scully said taking the letters, and eagerly opening them.

“There’s one from Mom, and one from Mulder” Scully added briefly looking up from the notes.

_Dear Scully,_

_I write to you from xxxxxxxxxxx, it’s early September and we’re moving at a good pace at the moment, even taking hold of more than one town some days. Although some towns have been a bit slow since the Germans have set up a number of enemy road-blocks and they’ve destroyed bridges and other ways for us to cross rivers. We’ve got some great engineers though and they’ve had us moving in no time._

_We went into xxxxxxxxxxx with tanks and the German’s didn’t even put up a fight, seems they’re in a bit of disarray after the latest defeat. We’re sure though that as we get closer to Germany that won’t be the case, and we’ll meet some strong resistance. Although things haven’t been too bad for my unit I’ve heard some pretty bad stories through the grapevine, so it seems some of the other divisions and infantry units weren’t so lucky._

_How are things where you are? I hope they’re not working you too hard, although with the stories I’ve heard I’m sure there’s been a number of casualties in the region._

_Oh you’ll love this. We’ve had a lot of rain in the area at the moment, so the ground has become pretty muddy, and while we were marching a couple of days ago, Frohike and Langly both tripped over the same tree root, and fell into the mud. Only problem was Frohike decided as thanks for helping him up, he’d give me a hug, so I ended up with mud all over me too. Sergeant Major Skinner told us to quit fooling around, but I’m sure I saw a small smirk cross over his face._

_Got to go and start patrol now. I miss you and can’t wait to see you again, and well kiss you again._

_Yours,_

_Mulder_

“So?” Ellen asked with raised eyebrows when she could tell Scully had finished the letter.

“He’s good” Scully replied with a smile, her eyes skimming over the letter again not really paying attention to her friend.

\---------------------------------------------

_18 th of September 1944 - Lommersweiler, Belgium_

After the allied troops had liberated France and were making good progress through Belgium, the second platoon embarked on a two day journey east into Belgium and around 15 miles away from the country’s eastern border with Germany. They weren’t attached to a division or Corps for the meantime, instead the field hospital was held in reserve and waiting instructions on their next move, providing the group with a little bit of respite.

“Great” Ellen said under her breath sarcastically when they arrived at the area they would be setting up and creating a bivouac. Unfortunately the area was covered in ankle deep mud and it looked like it’d be a nightmare to set up camp.

“At least while we’re here we’ll get a bit of a breather after the last few week. We’ve got to make the most of our ‘rest’ while we can” Scully replied practically.

“I guess. Well since we’re out in the open without any protection from above, as long as it doesn’t rain that’ll be something, I really don’t want to wake in the middle of the night again, to water in our tent” Ellen said shuddering as she remembered a few weeks ago when it had rained for three days straight, leading to her and Scully waking at 2am to a small creek running through their tent.

“Oh god, don’t remind me” Scully replied groaning, before taking a step forward and rolling her eyes as her shoe got enveloped by mud, causing her to nearly topple over. She glared behind her when she heard Ellen laughing.

\---------------------------------------------

Reviews are loved. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing!
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy!

_4_ _th_ _of October 1944 - Lommersweiler, Belgium_

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Ellen asked her friend, when she found Scully grinning and staring off into the distance by their tent.

"I just heard from our Commanding Officer that we're going to be supporting the 4th Infantry division when we move tomorrow to Heppenbach" Scully replied smiling.

"Oh so that's why you're grinning like the Cheshire cat" Ellen said with a knowing grin, before adding "well as long as you two keep the noise down, I guess he can come for sleepovers".

"Ellen" Scully hissed blushing furiously.

"You're so easy to tease" Ellen replied bursting out laughing at her friend's expression.

"Sure fine whatever" Scully said huffing and heading into their tent.

_\---------------------------------------------_

_5_ _th_ _of October 1944 -_ _Heppenbach, Belgium_

"Home sweet home, well for the next little while at least" Ellen said to Scully as they arrived at the already bustling camp, with the 4th infantry division having arrived at the location an hour ago.

"Yeah at least…." Scully replied before suddenly stopping dead in her tracks, staring at something ahead. Ellen looked in the same direction to see what had gained her attention, a grin breaking out on her face when she spotted Mulder, before she nudged her friend saying "oh go on".

Scully didn't need any more encouragement, breaking into a quick stride she hurried over to where Mulder was pitching his tent. Too engrossed in his task, Mulder didn't seem to notice the additional people milling around as Scully platoon began to enter the camp. Giving Scully the perfect opportunity to sneak up behind him. She gently taped his shoulder to get his attention and watched as he turned around his eyes widening when they landed on her.

"What are you doing here?" Mulder asked confused, but ecstatic to see her.

"My platoon's attached to your division again" Scully replied with a beaming smile.

"That's fantastic! None of you thought to tell me this particular piece of information" Mulder said to the soldiers around him, before pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. He'd been under the impression the arrangement of field hospitals assisting an entire corps was still in place, but hey he certainly wasn't complaining.

"God I've missed you" Mulder whispered into her ear as he clutched her to him, his arms wrapped around her waist, while she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The pair just taking a second to revel in the feeling of being able to hold each other again.

"I've missed you too" Scully replied as they pulled apart slightly, placing her hands on his cheeks, before standing on her tippy toes and leaning forward to plant her lips on his.

Mulder didn't need any encouragement as he eagerly responded to her kiss, their tongues duelling as the kiss became heated, before it was abruptly interrupted.

"Well well if it isn't the radiant Dana Scully. When you get sick of him, remember I'm single and will treat you like a queen" Frohike said putting on what he hoped was his most suave smile, as he, Langly and Byres strolled up to the couple.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mine Frohike" Scully replied with a chuckle as she and Mulder parted.

"Back off Frohikey" Mulder said jokingly, and placing an arm around Scully's waist.

_\---------------------------------------------_

_6_ _th_ _of October 1944 -_ _Heppenbach, Belgium_

"Hey Dana" Byres said when he found her restocking the medical tents supplies with the latest medical shipment.

"Hey John, where are the other two musketeers?" Scully asked with a cheeky grin, as she placed the last of the bandages into some mobile medical kits.

"I may have chosen a particular moment to tell them someone had found an old broken radio while on patrol, which was up for grabs in the mess. So they've gone to try and claim it so they can pull it apart, and do lord knows what" Byres replied chuckling before adding, "they're like my family, but even family can drive you crazy if you spend too much time with them".

"Trust me I know. You wouldn't have wanted to be in my house when the four of us kids, along with Mom and Dad were stuck inside for a week during a massive snowstorm" Scully said with a slight grimace, as she recalled one particular incident during the week, in which all four siblings were in a screaming match over which movie to watch next.

"I'll take your word for it. It's good to see you again, and not just because Mulder will quit moping now. If only you had seen his sad puppy dog eyes. I'm pretty even Sergeant Major Skinner was starting to feel bad for him" Byres replied chuckling.

"I'm sure it was a sight to behold. It's good to be stationed with you all again, and don't tell Frohike, but I may have missed you guys a bit too" Scully said smiling.

"Mulder mentioned about your father, has there been any word since the event?" Byres asked cautiously.

"No, they haven't really announced anything further" Scully replied sadly looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Byres said placing a comforting hand on her arm.

"Thank you, I appreciate that" Scully replied with a sad smile.

\---------------------------------------------

"Well it's not exactly like Paris, but the food is hot" Mulder said later that day, as he placed a metal canister in front of himself and Scully, filled with a battled field version of pork roast. Scully's platoon hadn't arrived at Heppenbach until around 3 O'clock in the afternoon, and by the time they'd finished setting up everything that was required, Mulder was on patrol watch. So they had agreed to have dinner the following day, outside the mess tent when Scully had finished her shift.

"Looks good to me. I'm just glad we get some time 'alone' together" Scully replied moving so she was seated next to Mulder, giving him a quick peck before digging in.

"How was your day?" Mulder asked placing one arm around Scully's waist and lightly caressing her side.

"Not too bad, all the remaining patients from our last location were transferred to. So it was mostly just dealing with everyday bumps and scratches you all seem to get yourself into. You'd be surprised at how many soldiers come in to see us because they injured a hand trying to set up their tent" Scully replied chuckling and resting her head on his shoulder as she ate her meal.

"Well I haven't been too bad. I haven't been to see you lovely nurses since I bumped my head trying to put together my tent the first time. They didn't have tents anything like these in the boy scouts" Mulder explained still slightly embarrassed he'd ended up with a large bump on his forehead.

"My poor baby" Scully replied teasingly stroking his cheek, before locking their lips together in a heated kiss.

"Get a room" Ellen called out to them with a cheeky grin as she walked past on her way to their tent.

"It seems we keep getting interrupted" Scully said mirthlessly, "I'd invite you to my tent, but I'm afraid that's also occupied by one of the people who keep interrupting us".

"That's okay, I've got a big day tomorrow, relieving the guys who are pushing towards the boarder, so it's probably best I get an early night. Maybe when I get back though, we can find a time when your tent mate will be otherwise occupied" Mulder replied with a grin.

\---------------------------------------------

Please review.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter ten! Thank you to dr_scully and Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone!

_8_ _th_ _of October 1944 -_ _Heppenbach, Belgium_

Scully jumped and let out a sharp yelp, as she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist from behind. Turning around quickly, ready to immobilise whoever was behind her, she was surprised to find Mulder with a goofy grin on his face. "Jesus Mulder, don't do that" Scully exclaimed secretly glad to see him, but giving him an unimpressed look anyway, pursing her lips.

"What, I thought you'd be happy to see me" Mulder replied pouting.

"Of course I'm happy you're back" Scully said not being able to keep up her displeased façade for long, before asking, "why are you back early?"

"I'm not entirely sure, we nearly got to the rendezvous point, and then we got word to turn around and head back to camp. I think there's been a change in our position from the higher ups" Mulder replied with a shrug, "can I have my kiss hello now?"

Grinning Scully placed her hands on his face and locked their lips together in a passionate kiss.

"Better?" she asked with a smile when they broke apart.

"Hmmm, I think we could do a bit better" Mulder replied with a smile, before leaning down to capture her lips again.

_\---------------------------------------------_

_10_ _th_ _of October 1944 – St Vith, Belgium_

It wasn't long before Mulder's prediction came true and the soldiers and nursers were informed they'd be moving a couple of hours away to a place called St Vith. Once at the location they set up their medical tents on top of an adjacent hill that overlooked both Germany and Beligum. The only problem with the new location was that it gave them a taste of the German's 'buzz bomb', as it flew overhead to try and immobilise the port of Antwerp.

"Hey" Mulder said coming up to Scully as she walked out of the medical facility, after finishing her shift.

"Hey, ready for some food?" She asked smiling when she saw him and looping her arm through his.

"Yeah, I'm starving. Is Ellen coming too?" Mulder asked looking behind her into the building for the familiar face.

"No the commander asked her to stay back, so she could assist with a practice version of a major surgery he's doing. With so few patients he thought this would be the perfect time to do some high level training" Scully replied pulling her jacket around her further. The weather was starting to get cooler now and unfortunately although they had moved into the middle of fall, the rain was still persisting, with wet weather around every other day.

"Here, take my jacket. I know you feel the cold a lot more than I do" Mulder said taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"Thanks" Scully replied gratefully, leaning up to give him a quick kiss.

_\---------------------------------------------_

"I'm surprised sometimes at how good the food we get is, or maybe it's just that I'm really hungry, and anything hot tastes delicious" Mulder commented as the pair ate a dinner of canned roast beef stew and instant rice, inside Scully's tent.

"I'll admit it's pretty good considering an hour ago this was in a can, but it doesn't hold a candle to my Mom's cooking" Scully replied smiling.

"You're Mom's a good cook then?" Mulder asked around a mouthful of food.

"Yes anything she makes tastes great, her roasts are the best though. What about yours?" Scully asked as she finished the last of her dinner.

"No, I'm not sure she even knows how to cook. She just gets Marie to cook everything" Mulder replied chuckling.

"Well you've done nothing but rave about Marie's cooking in the past, so I'm sure it's fantastic" Scully said. When it came out about who Mulder's father was, Mulder had come clean about his family's wealth, and the fact that his family had staff, knowing she was smart enough to connect the dots. These day's however the family's staff just consisted of Marie, who acted as his parent's housekeeper/cook.

"How's the hospital been? It seemed pretty quiet when I came to get you" Mulder asked as he placed the remanets of their dinner to the side, they'd get around to cleaning them later.

"Yeah it's been incredibly quiet, we've only admitted five patients in the last five days. Although it can be a little boring, I like it that way if it means no one's getting hurt. I'd like to keep it that way too, I don't want to see anyone, least of all you in the medical building for any reason other than a friendly visit" Scully said seriously.

"I'll see what I can do" Mulder replied leaning down to kiss her.

"Well since I don't expect Ellen to be back for a few more hours, while we have the tent to ourselves, why don't we make ourselves comfy on my cot" Scully said smiling softly at him.

"You think you can be quiet?" Mulder asked with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes.

_\---------------------------------------------_

_13_ _th_ _of October 1944 – St Vith, Belgium_

The next few days were relatively quiet, except for the sound of the "buzz bomb" going extremely close to the medical facility as they flew overhead to their target. It was unnerving to say the least, and each time Scully heard the sound, her heart sped up, terrified the bomb would malfunction or break apart and hit the building. Today though the only sound she could hear was of a commotion outside.

"What happened?" Scully asked concerned as she spotted Byres and one of the combat medics helping Mulder walk into the medical building.

"We were just about at our destination and we we're going to dig some fox holes, when suddenly there was enemy fire. I don't know where the guy came from, it's been so quiet out there, but in the process of dodging the fire, we all dove for cover and Mulder accidently dove straight into a large rock on the ground. His helmet sustained most of the damage, but it was still a decent impact. We got him out of there as soon as we could, and used the closest truck to get back here, but it's already been a few hours" Byres explained as Scully directed them to the nearest available bed.

"He's been having trouble with his vision, and he's also been disorientated at times, along with being sick a couple of times. Good news is no one got hit by the fire" the combat medic added.

"I don't feel so good Scully" Mulder complained as she helped him into one of the facility's beds, his face tinged with green.

"I know, I'm going to bring you a bucket. If you're going to be sick again, please use the bucket. It'll all be okay" Scully said squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"Did you lose consciousness at any time Mr Mulder?" Doctor Johnson asked as he came over to assess the situation.

"I don't think so" Mulder replied still a little dazed, as the doctor began to examine him.

"Well from what the combat medic described and my examination, it looks like you have a concussion" Doctor Johnson explained after a few minutes, before adding "we'll keep you under observation here for a couple of days. Hopefully since you didn't lose consciousness, you're recovery shouldn't be too bad, and relatively quick, meaning you could be back in the field in a couple of days, but if you get worse I won't hesitate to evacuate you to the nearest evacuation hospital".

"Thanks Doc" Mulder replied wincing in pain.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to visit me as a patient" Scully said trying to lighten the mood.

"Sorry" Mulder replied with a wounded puppy look and grasping her hands in his.

_\---------------------------------------------_

If you'd like to read an NSFW add on to this chapter, I'll being posting it soon! I hope you enjoyed it, please review.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter eleven! Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Happy New Year everyone!

_15_ _th_ _November 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

Luckily for Mulder as Doctor Johnson had predicted, his recovery from the blow to his head was relatively quick. After 24 hours, his nausea and headache had dissipated and the doctor sent him back to his tent, with strict orders to rest for another 48 hours, before coming back to be cleared for duty. It wasn't the best way to spend your 26th Birthday, but Mulder was just thankful his injuries were not more serious.

It also happened the day the Doctor cleared Mulder to go back to his duties, was also the day the second platoon moved 16 hours south into Luxembourg to a town called Bofferdange. Unfortunately this move was not made with Mulder's division, who set up came in Zweifall just over the border in Germany. The stay in the town was short lived, moving four hours south a couple of days later to Peppange, Luxembourg. Their time at the location was extremely quiet, with only one patient admitted to the platoon's medical tent in the two week period.

With so little activity, it was no surprise when the platoon got orders to move again, this time to Walferdange, a city a further four hours south, and this time they were once again assisting the 4th infantry division, although it was in alternative with the 83rd infantry division.

"Hey" Mulder said when he spotted Scully, a large grin gracing his face and his arms wide open.

"Hey" Scully replied smiling, eagerly moving into his embrace.

"I missed you" Mulder whispered kissing the top of her head.

"I missed you too" Scully replied before Mulder leaned down to capture her lips.

"At least it was only a month this time" Scully added when they parted.

"If I had it my way, we'd always be together" Mulder replied seriously.

Not knowing how to reply, Scully kissed him softly, before asking curiously "what was it like in Germany?"

"Unusually quiet at the start, when we got to the Hurtgen Forest, the men we were taking over for told us to enjoy the vacation, and they were right, it was a pretty boring place at the start. We knew our objectives, all we had to do was clear the northern half of the forest. So not much happened until the Germans started a strong counter offensive. The higher ups have sent us back over the border to re-group and build a strong defensive line. We'll be back up near the forest in a couple of days" Mulder explained wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well I'm glad you're safe. How's your head doing?" Scully asked running her hand over his forehead looking for any visible injuries.

"Good, I haven't had any headaches since we last saw each other, and I haven't had any symptoms of post-concussion syndrome" Mulder replied smiling, knowing she'd still probably go ask one of the field medics just to confirm he was definitely okay.

\---------------------------------------------

_8_ _th_ _December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

The second platoon of the 42nd field hospital spent the next few weeks stationed at Walferdange, assisting the 83rd infantry. It was certainly hard to hear some of the information they were getting through from the front lines of the Hurtgen Forest, because although it was relatively quiet in Luxembourg, with the people there just excited to finally be freed from German rule, the front line was dealing with heavy resistance, which caused their attack to come to a halt, and substantial casualties. The only bright side for Scully was the 83rd Infantry division was heading north to relive the 4th Infantry division, meaning she could finally see if Mulder was okay.

"Oh thank god you're okay" Scully said when she spotted Mulder in the crowd of soldiers entering the camp, enveloping him in her arms. As soon as he was in her arms, she felt him burst into tears against her shoulder and her heart broke for him. The stories she heard had been bad enough, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to live those moments.

"He's gone" Mulder said clutching her to him, Scully stroking his back comfortingly for a few minutes, as she waited for him to divulge further information, "on the first day of our attack I could hear as Company L, Langley's company were pelted by mortar fire, and had to deal with extensive mine fields. Langley was confirmed as one of those killed a few days later. On top of that due to the fighting that day Byres is in an evacuation hospital, he was hit in his right arm as well as his right shoulder, and Frohike is currently MIA".

Scully stood their quietly as she let his words sink in, she'd been so focused on Mulder, she hadn't even noticed the trio missing from the arriving soldiers.

\---------------------------------------------

"How are you feeling?" Scully asked Mulder, as she entered her tent where he was resting while she finished her shift, "I brought some food".

"A bit hollow and down. The last time I felt sort of like this was when my sister passed, and I guess it sort of bought back all those memories. I don't think I every really processed her death properly" Mulder replied sadly.

"It's okay to grieve Mulder, you lost a friend and saw some terrible things" Scully said placing the food aside, they could re-heat it later.

"Yeah, I guess I think I need more time to process the last couple weeks. Until today my mind has been solely focused on the completing the task I was assigned and I haven't let myself think about it too much. It was so brutal out there that I had to compartmentalize in order to survive" Mulder replied sighing, and beckoning her over to him.

"That's okay, whenever you're ready I'll be here. Want to talk about your sister instead?" Scully asked sitting down next to Mulder, and manoeuvring him so his head was in her lap, her fingers stroking through his hair softly.

"Yes, I think I'm finally ready, the physiologist in me knows it's best to work through the memories, but I've never really had anyone I felt comfortable talking to other then my sister. My Mother shut down after my sister's death and as you know my Father started drinking heavily and threw himself into his work. Most of the time when they were both home they communicated in stony silences, or screaming matches, that atmosphere wasn't really conducive to conversations about how each of us were coping" Mulder replied wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing a soft kiss to her stomach, before adding "other than that, the only people who came to the house were my Dad's business partner Spender, who smoked like a chimney and always creeped me out, as well as the staff. I used to be really close to our nanny Katherine, but once Sam passed Mom dismissed her, and told me that I was twelve now and needed to become a man. To top it all off let's just say I wasn't the most popular guy in school. I was just the tall lanky guy who people thought was a bit weird. That's part of the reason I decided to study at Oxford, at least then I was able to get away from everything and start a fresh for a little while".

"Oh you never mentioned you studied at Oxford" Scully said surprised.

"Yep, I graduated early at Seventeen and moved there, having an eidetic memory has both its advantages and disadvantages. I ended up spending four years over there, it's where I got my degree in Psychology, before I moved back to the States at my parent's instances and competed my four year doctorate at Columbia University" Mulder explained as his fingers traced patterns on her hip.

"Wow, you'll have to tell me more about it sometime" Scully replied, before lapsing into silence and waiting for Mulder to decide he was ready to talk about his sister.

"We're not entirely sure where I got it, but I remember it was winter and around the time my friend's house burnt down. We ended up spending the night in the burnt wreckage to guard it from looters, ever since I've had a phobia of fires. Anyway not long after that I developed a fever and a bad cough which wouldn't go away. At first my parents just thought it was a bad flu or a cold, but when I started getting chest pains they called the doctor. After a bunch of tests he ended up diagnosing me with Tuberculosis and my parents isolated me in my room, only allowing my nanny and the doctor to see me. Sam wouldn't listen to them though and she'd sneak in at night to visit me. I guess she could've contracted TB before the doctor diagnosed me, but either way she ended up catching the disease from me. In the beginning she seemed to be fighting it off pretty well, however as time went by I started getting better with treatment, and she began to get worse. The disease seemed to take hold of her pretty quickly, within a few days she was coughing up blood and finding it harder to breath. I sat by her bed as long as my parents would let me, just holding her hand, and talking to her, and I would sneak into her room, like she did for me, and lay down next to her bed, so I could keep an eye on her. I was holding her hand when she passed, moments before she'd rasped out that she loved me, and to take care of Mom and Dad. I screamed for help, but there was nothing the doctor could do" Mulder said wiping the tears from his cheeks.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 12! Thank you to dr_scully and Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> I've had a question about the plans for this story, so I thought I'd let you all know currently I'm expecting there to be around 16 chapters for this story, but I'm also planning a post war sequel :)
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

_16_ _th_ _December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

Recent days had seen an increase in enemy bombing and air raids in Belgium, therefore all medical personnel were advised to wear Red Cross brassards, and use flags as well as markers to indicate medical installations. For the moment however, the medical platoons, and infantry divisions were trying to bring some small sense of normalcy and home to their camps. With the men and women playing touch football, as a long stream of tanks passed by, and all personnel enjoying the comforts of the building they'd commandeered to set up their medical equipment, with heat, electric lights, and hot baths.

In Luxembourg with how quiet it was, it seemed in some ways the war was over and everybody began to let the guard down, not worrying they were currently at 50% strength due to casualties in the Hurtgen Forest. Expecting a reprieve from the fighting they'd also sent some of the division on leave and even dismissed reports of the German's preparing something, as they were 'moving around' a lot along the border.

It turned out the reports were correct and instead of evaluating the intelligence correctly, the American General's had focused too heavily on their offensive plans. At five thirty that morning the German Army had begun a counteroffensive in the Ardennes, effectively cutting wire communication from the front most posts, who were spread thinly across a large area. Unfortunately this meant word of the attack was slow to reach the command posts. To top it all off a heavy snow storm engulfed the area, making it impossible to call on the support of Allied aircraft, luckily though the snow storms were also a problem for the Germans, hampering their advance via road.

"What's going on?" Scully asked Mulder, wrapping her jacket tightly around her as she came out of the warmth of the medical building, into the cold snowy afternoon to meet him. The camp had been a hive of activity for the last few hours, but there was still a lot of confusion as to what was actually going on.

"We got word about two and a half hours ago from General Barton, the 4th Division Commander, to be on the alert, because German activity has been reported further north from the 28th Infantry Division. Further intelligence has been filtering through the last couple hours, and we now know the German's crossed the Sauer River at 10am, less than 20 miles from us, and a group of German soldiers have captured three of our outposts at Berdorf. The Germans have also got our guys surrounded just east of Berdorf at Lauterborn on the main highway in the area. We're still trying get a clear picture of what is going on, but my company has been ordered to use the light tanks at our disposal to reclaim the main road. We head out in around thirty minutes, so I wanted to come and say goodbye before I left" Mulder explained slightly concerned at the recent developments.

"Please be careful" Scully said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You too. Look after yourself, the German's are closer to the hospitals than they've been in the last few months" Mulder replied placing his arms around her waist.

"I will. I'll see you when you get back" Scully said pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Count on it" Mulder replied giving her a short but passionate kiss.

\---------------------------------------------

By night fall, both the first and third platoon had retreated due to the German attack, leaving Scully's platoon in the midst of the battle. They'd had no further word on the German's progression or the Allied resistance, other than the companies had dug in for the night, and no additional actions would be taken until morning. Leaving those back at came to wait patiently for news.

"I can feel you thinking" Ellen said as she stared up into the blackness of their tent.

"I'm just worried about Mulder" Scully replied sighing.

"I know, but war is a terrible business, and you have to have faith that he'll be alright. You'll drive yourself mad otherwise" Ellen said turning to face her friend.

"I understand, but I just don't want to regret anything" Scully replied cryptically.

"Regret anything…..You have told him you love him right?" Ellen asked, Scully's silence confirming what she'd feared, "oh Scully, why haven't you told him?"

"I don't know, I've wanted to so many times recently, and I can tell Mulder is itching to say it, but every time I feel like I'm ready to say the words out loud, I suddenly clam up and get nervous" Scully replied honestly, "I don't know how to get past that feeling".

"You need to let him in and move past your fear of attachment. Uh" Ellen said when she heard Scully about to disagree "you forget I know you, living with someone for the last six months will do that. I can see that moving around a lot as a kid, has meant you're slow to make attachments and let others fully in, for fear that you'll have to say goodbye, and it's all the more harder when you've admitted out loud what you're feeling".

"I uhh, um" Scully replied at a loss for words.

"Just think about what I've said" Ellen said softly, before squeezing her friend's hand.

\---------------------------------------------

_20_ _th_ _December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

The next few days were a hectic, with heavy fighting between the Americans and Germans, resulting in a number of reinforcements being trucked to the 4th Infantry division's command post in Junglinster, Luxembourg.

Although the fighting was fierce and at times only small gains were made, the gorges in the surrounding area were well protected by the 4th Infantry Division, which aided in repelling the sizeable German company which was trying to move along the bottom of the gorge. Luckily too with the large amount of tanks commanded by the U.S army in the area, although the German soldiers far outnumbered the American's, the allies were able hold strongly against the opposing force. Slowly re-capturing towns and houses taken by the Germans. This did not mean however that the Germans we're not having their own successes, their attack forcing the retreat of the American's in some locations and inflicting a large number of allied casualties.

"What happened to him?" Scully asked when she saw an unconscious Mulder being wheeled into the main room of the building they were using as a hospital. His upper body partially covered in bandages, and a red patch of blood soaking through the gauze near his left shoulder.

"He was hit in his left shoulder by a bullet, when his company engaged the enemy. There's no exit wound, so the bullet must still be lodged inside of him" the field medic who accompanied Mulder back explained, "that was around an hour ago, we got him out of the line of fire and into an ambulance as soon as possible, stabilising him while in en-route".

"He's going to need surgery" Doctor Brown said as he assessed the wound, "let's prep him, and place him in the room we've set up as a second surgical area".

"Absolutely Doctor" Scully replied beginning to make the preparations for surgery.

"Nurse Scully can you please tell Nurse Richards to come and assist with the surgery, and can you take over the care of her patients during the surgery. Unfortunately no matter how good a nurse you are, you're too close to the patient to be involved" Doctor Brown instructed with a regretful smile.

"Yes Doctor" Scully replied dismayed, but knowing it was the right choice.

\---------------------------------------------

"Hey, you're awake" Scully said when she saw Mulder's eyes flutter open. Her shift had ended a couple of hours ago, but she hadn't wanted to leave him, so she'd grabbed a chair and set up camp next to his bed. Luckily they had rudimentary partitions between each of the beds, so they were afforded some privacy.

"What happened?" Mulder asked still groggy from the anaesthesia.

"You got shot in the shoulder earlier today. The Doctor got the bullet out, he said the surgery went really well, but you'll still need to be monitored carefully for infection or post-surgery complications" Scully said squeezing his hand gently, before adding "once you're stable enough we'll transfer you to an evacuation hospital. For now though you just need to rest and get better".

"That would explain why my shoulder is throbbing" Mulder replied wincing.

"Do you need me to go and see if one of the nurses is available to administer some more morphine?" Scully asked worried.

"No that's okay, it doesn't hurt too much at the moment, it's mainly just throbbing" Mulder explained squeezing her hand back lightly.

"Okay" Scully replied with a small smile.

"What's the matter?" Mulder asked when he noticed Scully had fallen silent, her head bowed.

"I could have lost you" Scully said looking up at him, her eyes welling up.

"I'm alright though, you're not getting rid of me that easily" Mulder replied reaching out his right hand to brush away a single tear from her cheek.

Placing her hand atop his, she smiled softly and pausing before saying quietly "while you were in surgery, all I could think about was that I never told you that I love you".

There was silence for a moment, her statement hanging in the air, before Mulder smiled and said "I love you too".

Scully felt a weight lift off of her, at finally having made her declaration, and a grin blossomed across her face, before she leaned over a gently pressed her lips against his, mindful of his body's current afflictions.

\---------------------------------------------

_21_ _st_ _December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

The next two days continued like the days prior, until all nurses and doctors of the second platoon were called to attend a briefing.

"I'm sure over the last few days, you have all heard whispers the town was under serious threat from the Germans. Well today they have got us surrounded, we've got allied soldiers holding a perimeter line, but who knows if they're going to be able to hold that line and continue to resist German capture. That means for the moment we won't be able to evacuate any of the injured personnel" their commanding officer Major William T. Devan informed the group. "Take care of your patients as you usually would, but we're going to need ration our medical supplies and food, until we can get additional supplies dropped via plane. I'll make further announcements when I have more information, for now be safe and god bless you all".

\---------------------------------------------

To be continued

_A/N FYI – Although I have extensively researched the movements of the 4_ _th_ _Infantry Division during the dates of the story, I decided to use creative licence for the last section of the chapter and the following chapter, and use an event which did occur on those dates, just not in Walferdange._


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to dr_scully and Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

**_Previously:_ **

_21 st December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

_The next two days continued like the days prior, until all nurses and doctors of the second platoon were called to attend a briefing._

_“I’m sure over the last few days, you have all heard whispers the town was under serious threat from the Germans. Well today they have got us surrounded, we’ve got allied soldiers holding a perimeter line, but who knows if they’re going to be able to hold that line and continue to resist German capture. That means for the moment we won’t be able to evacuate any of the injured personnel” their commanding officer Major William T. Devan informed the group. “Take care of your patients as you usually would, but we’re going to need ration our medical supplies and food, until we can get additional supplies dropped via plane. I’ll make further announcements when I have more information, for now be safe and god bless you all”._

\---------------------------------------------

_21 st December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

“How are you feeling?” Scully asked Mulder when she visited him after the briefing.

“Like I got shot” Mulder replied groaning, but glad to see her again.

“Funny, that’s exactly what happened” Scully said chuckling and sitting on the edge of Mulder’s bed.

“What’s all the commotion about?” Mulder asked pointedly, having noticed the majority of the medical personnel had all disappeared at the same time.

“Looks like you’re not going to be transferred to a station hospital, and instead you’ll be spending the foreseeable future recovering here. The German’s have closed in around us and blocked all seven roads in and out of the town. Our men and women are holding a strong perimeter, and we have to have faith they will persevere, but for the time being we just have to sit tight and hope for the best. We’ll also have to ration our supplies until the weather clears up, there’s a massive snow storm outside right now” Scully replied lacing their fingers together.

“Well shit, that doesn’t sound good” Mulder said uncomfortable with they’re current position.

“No, but the closest the perimeter is to the town is just under five miles, so while there is an imminent threat, we won’t go down without a fight, and we’re not at that point yet” Scully replied knowing he hated sitting idle while people he cared about were in danger, before adding “there’s nothing you can do from a hospital bed, so for now I need you to rest and get better”.

“Okay for you I will, but please keep me informed of any news you get” Mulder said running his thumb over the back of her hand.

“I will, I promise. I have to go now, it’s getting late and I need to get some sleep, but I’ll come see you first thing in the morning” Scully replied kissing him softly.

Unfortunately it was hard to sleep at night, as she spent most of the time tossing and turning. She’d been close to battle over the last few months, and had been in dangerous positions, but it was a whole different experience when the enemy was so close to your position, and you could often hear the sound of gunfire, along with the threat of concentrated bombing.

\---------------------------------------------

_22 nd December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

“I have good news” Scully opened with excitedly when she went to visit Mulder that evening, “I put some enquires out and found out which evacuation hospital Byres’ is being treated at. So I sent a letter a little over a week ago to that hospital enquiring about his status, and I just got a letter back this morning from one of the nurses. She says he was in a coma when he got to the hospital, but came out of that after around 48 hours, and has remained conscious since then. The Doctors there were able to repair the damage to his right shoulder and arm, but once they did a full assessment at the hospital they found some additional damage to his right leg. The doctors did their best, however he will have to use a cane to walk in the future”.

“That’s great. I’ll have to write to him, since neither of us having anything better to do right now then recover in hospital beds” Mulder replied feeling relief wash over him, before reality set back in and he cautiously asked “any word on Frohike?”

“No sorry I haven’t heard anything. I’ll keep listening out though, and I’ve sent off a few letters to some people who will notify me about any soldiers found that match his description” Scully replied pulling a chair up next to his bed, and grasping his hand in hers.

“Thank you, I know that can’t have been a small task to undertake” Mulder said sincerely.

“That’s okay, I know how much the three of them meant to you, and I must admit they’ve grown on me too during the last few months” Scully replied smiling sadly.

\---------------------------------------------

_24 th December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

“That’s the end of my break. They’ve assigned me to help out at the first aid station, located in the centre of town. I’ll be back in a few hours with dinner, when my shift is finished” Scully said leaning over and giving him a soft kiss.

“Okay, I’ll see you later, love you” Mulder replied with a grin.

“Love you too Mulder” Scully said smiling, a feeling of giddiness washing over her.

Two hours later Mulder was startled awake by two loud bangs nearby, the ground shaking and the small lantern next to his bed flickering. It took him a few seconds to gain his bearings after having been in a deep sleep, but he quickly jumped out of bed, groaning as he felt pain shoot through his shoulder.

“Sergeant Mulder, you cannot leave the premise. You had surgery only five days ago, and won’t have your stitches removed for another couple of days” Nurse Thompson said as she came rushing into the room at the sound of Mulder’s strangled cry of pain and tried to stop him from exiting the room, luckily for her he was not at his peak physical fitness.

“They’re bombing us, Scully might be hurt. I need to find her and make sure she’s okay” Mulder replied franticly.

“Please Sergeant Mulder, it’s too dangerous right now, and you’re no good to her if you aggravate your injuries, or worse if you end up dead. We have soldiers who are not currently residents in the infirmary responding to the bombings, and assessing the situation. I promise if I hear anything, I’ll come straight here to tell you” Nurse Thompson said trying to reason with him.

Mulder was silent for a moment, weighing up his options, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get very far with the pain in his shoulder, before he sighed and got back into bed.

\---------------------------------------------

Luckily Mulder didn’t have to wait long, as only twenty minutes later he saw Scully stumble into the room, covered in cuts and dirt.

“What happened?” Mulder asked concerned.

“They dropped two bombs on the town, one hit the command headquarters and did some heavy damage to the structure, and the other hit the first aid station, causing the roof to cave in. I was in the station only minutes before, but we’d run out of iodine swabs, so I’d gone to get more from here, and as I rounded a corner about two thirds of the way from the station, I heard two loud bangs, before a bright flash emerged and I fell to the ground. I ran back to see what happened, but the station was completely caved in. They don’t reckon there were any survivors, so all twenty patients inside and one of the nurses were killed” Scully replied tears in her eyes and her lower lip trembling, as she ran into his arms.

“I’m so glad you’re okay” Mulder said clutching her to him, before pulling back his eyes growing wide “Scully your head is bleeding,”

“What?” Scully asked confused, placing a hand to her hairline and feeling a wet patch, before lowering her hand to find it covered in blood.

“You need to be looked over nurse Scully” Nurse Thompson said from where she’d been watching the scene, “I’ll bring a kit in here, and look you over myself”.

\---------------------------------------------

“Merry Christmas” Scully said the next day, when she brought Mulder breakfast before her shift.

“Merry Christmas” Mulder replied grinning at her.

“I thought we could have a Christmas breakfast together. Unfortunately all we have is the K-rations they dropped into the town yesterday, but at least that has chopped ham and eggs, a few biscuits, and a fruit bar, along with some oatmeal and coffee” Scully said smiling, as she placed two trays with the heated up portion of their meal on the end of his bed.

“Smells good, I’m starving” Mulder replied beckoning her to him for a kiss, before asking “how’s your head doing?”

“Not too bad, a bit of a headache, but although the cut was long, it was shallow enough that I don’t need sutures, just a dressing while it heals” Scully said kissing him softly, before pulling apart and smiling softly at Mulder as he lightly pressed his finger over the dressing.

“That’s good” Mulder replied moving over slightly and patting the space beside him, “come here the food will keep”. Scully smiled and lay on top of the bed, snuggling against his uninjured side.

“Best Christmas ever” Mulder said when she was settled, kissing the top of her head.

\---------------------------------------------

Reviews are much appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing. 
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

The 26th of December ended up being a very good day for Mulder and Scully. Mulder’s sutures were removed, the wound healing nicely as well as no sign of infection and he was discharged to recover in his tent with Scully’s assistance. In addition the allied men and women held strong against all the German pressure, and during the course of the 26th the three Combat Commands of the 4th Armoured Division worked their way to the perimeter line, breaking the German encirclement to the north, and taking around 400 German soldiers as prisoners. Finally ending the siege.

The days following the end to the siege were relatively quiet in terms of fighting inside the town, however the town was bustling with activity, as a convoy of supply trucks entered the town, along with replacements to relieve the men and women on the front line. Furthermore by midday of the 28th all casualties, numbering nearly 1,000, had been stretchered out of the city to station hospitals.

Additionally while Walferdange had been in a precarious position only a few days prior, the weather had improved in other areas, allowing significant Allied air forces to attack German supply points, and halt the German advance at the Meuse.

\---------------------------------------------

_31 st December 1944 - Walferdange, Luxembourg_

Since they were still in the middle of a conflict, and not wanting to draw attention to their position in the dark of night, no large parties or gatherings for the end of the year were being held, however all personnel were permitted to hold small celebrations in doors. Therefore once Scully’s shift finished at 8pm, the pair decided to spend the remainder of the year in Scully’s tent, enjoying a quiet meal and each other’s company. Unfortunately for Ellen the platoon had recently completed a re-shuffle of personnel and rosters, and she’d drawn the short card to work the night shift. Although Mulder quite liked the idea that he and Scully could be alone all night.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five” Mulder started looking at his watch as it neared midnight, the small lantern illuminating the immediate surroundings in the tent, “four, three, two, one, happy New Year”.

“Happy New Year” Scully replied smiling, and threading her fingers through his hair, as she pulled his head down to hers for a heated kiss.

“I love you” Mulder said when they parted, cupping her face, and gently rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

“I love you too” Scully replied smiling and placing her hand atop his. The couple taking in the moment, before Mulder brought his lips back down to Scully’s and gently coaxed her to lay on her back. 

“Are you sure? What about your shoulder?” Scully asked concerned as he straddled her.

“Definitely, Doctor Brown cleared me to return to the field today. He said the wound was pretty much healed. There’s still an angry scar, but that should fade over time” Mulder replied grinning and fusing their lips together.

\---------------------------------------------

Other some revellers being a little tired after last night’s partying, the next day started off as usual, that was until they received word the German’s had launched a counter attack to the Allied resistance and offensive. At 9:15am that morning a coordinated air attack was undertaken against allied airfields in the Low Countries, destroying or at least severely damaging 465 aircrafts, and with that substantially limiting the Allie’s air capabilities. The German’s were not without losses though, with 227 of their aircraft lost during the attack.

“What a way to start to the New Year” Scully said as she met Mulder just inside building they were using as a mess, during her afternoon break.

“Yep, so much for hoping this war would be over soon, looks like we’ll be moving on from here. We just got word from General Eisenhower that he’s putting a number of divisions into a counter-attack from the south, while General Montgomery’s troops in the 1st US army will do the same from the north. Their plan is for us to meet in the middle in an attempt to ‘erase the bulge’ and push the German’s into retreat” Mulder replied gesturing for Scully to sit at a table with him, and pulling out a bag of sunflower seeds from his pocket.

“Yes Major William T. Devan just informed us all that we’ll be moving to the next location soon, and this time we’ll be functioning as a whole field hospital, opposed to separate platoons” Scully said sitting next to him, and taking out a fruit bar which she’d saved for later. 

“Well at least we get to go together” Mulder replied smiling and grasping her hand.

“Yeah” Scully said smiling softly at him, before rubbing her nose and looking out at the snow falling outside, “it’s freezing, I can’t say I’m looking forward to having to make the trek”.

“Neither, I’ve already lost count of the layers I’m wearing now. It’s going to be hard going with all this snow, one of the guys told me this morning that over the next few days they’re predicting heavy snow and blizzards, which is going to significantly reduce visibility” Mulder replied groaning.

\---------------------------------------------

_9 th January 1945 – somewhere in eastern Luxembourg_

Although the counter-attack was planned for the following day, due to extremely poor weather conditions, it was postponed until the 3rd of January, unfortunately giving the German’s the opportunity to retreat and escape to areas in which they would not immediately be surrounded and captured by the Allies. This did not however mean the German’s surrendered, launching a renewed offensive once they had re-grouped.

For Mulder and Scully no movement was made until the 6th of January, when the division captured a nearby town, but progress was slow going with the weather. Often the gains made by the Americans would only amount to around half a mile each day. In saying that though, due to the terrain and the current weather conditions causing a sizeable amount of snow, the field hospital found it difficult to traverse to each new location in a timely manner and effectively support critical patients. Therefore the commander had asked for volunteers from all the nurses, doctors and surgeons to form small medical groups of six people (two nurses, doctors and surgeons). Each group would set up a small extremely portable station and assist the 3-5 companies within each individual battalion of the infantry division, stabilising and treating critical patients before they were transported back to the field hospital, and patching up minor injuries on-field.

So Scully eager to help had volunteered and had been selected to form one of the groups. Luckily for Mulder and Scully, Skinner had a soft spot for Mulder and as commander of Mulder’s battalion had requested that Scully be assigned to group which would follow him.

Each medical group was warned about the additional danger they were facing now that they would be even closer to the front line, however they were comforted to know they would set up with the company within the battalion which was holding up the rear. The first of which happened to be Mulder’s company, company A.

“Hey, how’s the tent set up going?” Mulder asked Scully. They’d spent the last six hours trudging through the knee-high freezing snow and fog on foot, only having moved a quarter of a mile in that period, but still they were exhausted from their efforts.

“Pretty good, should be good to go now. It’s slightly weird being in a one person tent, since I spent the last six months sharing with Ellen, but I’ll get used to it” Scully replied surveying her handy work and wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered in the cold.

“I’m sure none of the guys will say anything if I keep you company at night, we can help each other keep warm” Mulder said with a wink and a grin, before pulling her into his arms in an effort to try and warm her up.

“What am I going to do with you” Scully replied looking up at him and rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

“I could think of lots of things” Mulder said kissing the top of her head, as she rested her head against his chest.

\---------------------------------------------

If you’d like to read an NSFW add on to this chapter, I’ll being posting it soon! I hope you enjoyed it, please review. 

A/N – I found it really difficult to find detailed information about what Scully’s platoon was doing and where it was going for the period between the end of 1944 and when they reached Germany, so I’ve taken some creative licence and invented the small medical groups.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to dr_scully and Sanjuktachatterjee for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> A/N: this is a little bit of a filler chapter to move us along, and covers 12 days. 
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

_14 th January 1945 – somewhere in eastern Luxembourg_

“The tanks frozen again?” Scully asked when she found Mulder and a couple other guys chiselling out a tank, which had frozen to the ground overnight. Unfortunately it seemed to be becoming a common occurrence.

“Yep, they’re planning for us to move positions later today further east, so we have to get this sucker out” Mulder replied as he tried to free the frozen tank.

The last few days had mainly consisted of digging in at one location for a couple of days, until they received orders to move positions. They’d had only managed to move 12 miles in the last six days, with the front line engaging with enemy fire as they moved through the area, but the worst opposition they received was from the weather. It had been brutal with blizzards, snow fall averaging at 8 inches a day and temperatures hovering around freezing. The only good the weather had brought was that Mulder thought there might be a chance they could see a yeti, he wouldn’t stop talking Scully’s ear off about them.

\---------------------------------------------

“I saw you received a letter from your Mother yesterday, you seemed a bit distant after you read it” Scully said later that day as they took a short break from their trek. They’d spent the last four hours slowly moving through calf high snow and she didn’t know if her feet had ever felt so cold, these boots were definitely not designed for the snow, “want to talk about what was in it?”

“This was the first letter I’d received in a while, probably in three months. She mainly just told me about everything going on at home and how different people are doing. At the end though she wrote that my father sends his love, but I know he probably remained silent when she asked him if he’d like her to pass on any messages for him. He wasn’t exactly happy when I told him I’d enlisted, didn’t even say goodbye to me when I came over for dinner before I headed over to England” Mulder replied sighing and rubbing his hand over his face, “he enlisted in the army in early 1918 and fought in Europe during WW1. I was only a couple of months old when he came home, but Mom says he was different when he came back. He never talks about the war, but having now experienced it myself, I can understand why”.

“I guess it just left me feeling a little deflated. You know things haven’t been the same since Sam passed, but it was even tenser after my announcement” Mulder continued taking a sip from his canteen, as Scully grasped his hand in hers, silently giving him the comfort he sought.

\---------------------------------------------

_16 th January 1945 – somewhere in eastern Luxembourg_

“Wake up sweetheart” Mulder said brushing a strand of hair behind Scully’s ear, after he heard the Reveille call played out throughout the camp to wake everybody up. It turned out Mulder spent more nights then not in Scully’s tent, and they’d fashioned a bed for themselves, using the army issued sleeping bags and woollen blankets provided to each person.

“No” Scully mumbled burying her face in his chest.

“We’ve got to get up sweetheart” Mulder said stroking her cheek lightly.

“Uh-uh” Scully replied turning away from him and pulling the blanket over her head, causing Mulder to chuckle.

Getting up, he grabbed his jacket lying nearby, and quickly pulled the garment on, before shucking on his pants, and stepping into his boots, trying to keep the cold at bay. He walked out the tent flaps into the dark, returning a few moments later with two cups of hot coffee, placing one in front of Scully and wrapping his hands around the other.

Mulder laughed when he saw Scully’s face peak out from beneath the covers and eye the cup of coffee, before she let out a loud huff and grabbed the steaming mug, silently thanking Mulder as he held out her sweater and jacket, quickly slipping on the garments to fend off the freezing cold.

\---------------------------------------------

_18 th January 1945 – somewhere in eastern Luxembourg_

It was in the cover of darkness they made their next move, before mounting their attack to seize a nearby town with high ground at dawn, just before the rise of the sun. While Company’s I, L and G were tasked with clearing the town and setting up occupation in the area, Company A was in-charge of conducting patrol and blocking enemy action north of the area, with the medical group standing by them to tend to any injured soldiers in the area. They nearly made it to the outskirts of the area with no issues, until they were 200 yards from their destination, suddenly encountering stiff enemy resistance.

“Stay back and get behind the tank” Mulder yelled when the first shots were fired, immediately crouching into a defensive position and scanning the nearby woods for evidence of the enemy, his gun drawn.

Scully’s heart was beating loudly in her chest, as she followed Mulder’s orders, bullets whizzing past her. Being defenceless and this close to the action, was definitely something she didn’t want to repeat.

The medical group stayed behind the tank breathing heavily in fear, before Scully noticed blood was seeping out onto the clothes of one of the doctors, silently getting the attention of the others, she gestured to the doctor, as his eyes went wide. All the adrenaline of the last few moments, had meant he hadn’t even realised he’d been hit. Knowing the doctor needed medical attention, and they couldn’t stay behind the tank indefinitely, along with the fact the tank would be a target of the enemy, the group weighed up their options, trying to think over the sounds of fighting and men yelling, before signalling to one of the soldiers and taking the risk to fall back 300 yards, to a safe location behind a hill.

“Are you all okay?” Mulder asked concerned, finally able to check on the medical group to find Scully was covered in blood.

“I’m fine it’s not mine. Doctor Crane was hit by a bullet on his torso, but it wasn’t too bad. We patched him up easily here. Lieutenant Mallory was hit directly in the thigh, we stabilised him and the field medic along with nurse Rogers have taken him and Doctor Crane back. The rest of your team just need minor patching up, they should be good” Scully replied as she tendered to some minor wounds of Mulder’s company.

“Okay, thank god” Mulder said relieved. 

\---------------------------------------------

_26 th January 1945 – somewhere in eastern Luxembourg_

It was late that day when they learned the German offensive had drawn to a close and the German troops had withdrawn to their original defensive positions before they had embarked on their campaign. Meaning they could finally stop their offensive and move to new locations, while reinforcements came in to hold the front line positions. This change for Mulder and Scully would be back west to Fischbach, the field hospital returning to its original intended formation as a whole group operation.

The pair were ecstatic to get a break, exhausted and weary from the last few weeks of fighting in the bitter cold. After their encounter with the enemy, but successful mission, the companies within the battalion had changed formation, leaving the medical group to remain with company I in the newly captured town, while company A, L and G all moved out into defensive positions around the area, fortifying their position. Until word came to move to the next location and take control of the town there. Luckily this time the town was clear, and the move was relatively painless, except for the tracks of one of the tanks dislodging, and causing a halt to the advance while it was repaired.

It was only two days later when the battalion was ordered to move further east and seize the strategic high ground around 9 miles away. This pattern continued with the companies taking new ground, before setting up defensive positions in that area, and waiting for their next orders. They encountered heavy resistance in some areas, particularly while in the process of securing a bridge over the Sure River, but were always able to hold strong against the enemy and capture the territory. Their efforts finally paying off, and resulting in a much needed break.

\---------------------------------------------

Reviews are much appreciated.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to dr_scully for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> A/N: this story is coming to an end now and there will be two more chapters following this one. As mentioned before though I will also be writing a sequel.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

_14 th February 1945 – _Bleialf, Germany

Mulder and Scully only ended up spending four days together in Fischbach, before they parted ways and both headed to Belgium, Scully was stationed in Bastogne for two weeks in bivouac, while Mulder went to Liege. Their time in the Fischbach was a nicer relaxing break though, the owners of the Château de Fischbach estate offered the main building on the estate to the army to be used as a base for the field hospital, as well as accommodation for the troops. The best part of staying in the Chateau was that there was heating in the building, something the pair were extremely grateful for, after having spent the past few weeks in the harsh winter elements.

The couple didn’t have to wait long to be reunited again, with both of their respective units moving to a small town in north western Germany called Bleialf on the 14th of February. This time Scully’s platoon, was once again operating as an independent platoon, using a shack on top of a hill as their hospital base.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, I’ve missed you” Mulder said when he found Scully exiting the mess tent, after grabbing a snack on her break.

“It’s been just over took weeks” Scully replied smiling up at him, before embracing him and adding “I missed you too”.

“I know, longest two weeks of my life” Mulder mumbled kissing the top of her head, “I’m so glad we get a couple days rest before we move forward. It’ll be nice to just spend some quiet time together”.

“It will, we all need a break and this quiet in the fighting came just at the right time. You all seem to have a colds and don’t think I didn’t notice that bandage on your hand. What happened?” Scully asked pulling back from their embrace and grabbing his hand, examining the bandaged area.

“I may or may not have grabbed some barbed wire with my bare hands, to move it out of the way as we were advancing, which caused it to slice into my skin, but it’s not that bad, barely more than a scratch” Mulder replied wincing as she touched the affected area.

“Looks like it’s just a minor flesh wound. What am I going to do with you” Scully said shaking her head and chuckling.

“Kisses definitely help” Mulder replied with a grin before asking “what time do you finish tonight?”

“Since we’ve just moved and don’t have many patients to care for yet, Major Devan has allowed me the evening off. So I’ll finish at 5:30” Scully replied not sure what he was up to.

“Great, make sure you’re ready for dinner by 6:30pm, I’ve got something planned for us” Mulder said with a grin, before kissing her softly once more and heading off to start his preparations.

\---------------------------------------------

“Ta da” Mulder said when he opened the flap to Scully’s tent to reveal two plates with dinner and a small candle in between, “happy valentine’s day”.

“Happy valentine’s day to you too” Scully replied looking down at his efforts, “oh Mulder, you didn’t have to go to any trouble”.

“It’s nothing fancy, just something the chefs at the base cooked up, using the supplies they dropped yesterday, but I will admit I may have also traded some cigarettes with one of the local farmers for a carrot and a bit of pumpkin. So I spent the last twenty minutes cooking them up and adding them to our plates of beef and pork loaf” Mulder said smiling and leaning down to kiss her softly, “we also have two Hershey bars for desert”.

“It smells delicious” Scully replied taking his offered hand and sitting in front of one of the plates.

The pair quickly finished their meal, Scully loving the taste of some vegetables that hadn’t been canned, before they grabbed the chocolate bars and moved to Scully’s cot. Mulder lying on his back while Scully snuggled into his left side, her head resting over his heart.

“How about we save the rest of these for later?” Scully asked with a glint in her eye, as she placed her uneaten bar next to the cot.

“But I wanted desert” Mulder replied pouting as she took his partially eaten bar.

“It’s okay, I’ve got a different kind of desert for you” Scully said giggling as he caught her drift and eagerly pulled her on top of him.

\---------------------------------------------

 _17 th February 1945 – _Bleialf, Germany

“What time do you head out tomorrow?” Scully asked Mulder as the pair sat by a small fire together that night.

“Orders are for us to begin our attack at 4am” Mulder replied wrapping an arm around Scully’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

“I’ll be glad when this whole business is over” Scully said sighing and resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah me too” Mulder replied gently stroking her side, and leaning his head against hers as he watched the fire crackling. The pair lapsing into a comfortable silence.

“I got another letter from Byres today. He said he’s being released from the hospital soon, and the army is also giving him a medical discharge. He’s scheduled to sail back to the states on the 27th of February. He’s decided to move to New York and start a newspaper there called the Lone Gunmen. He, Frohike and Langley always talked about it, so he’s going to try and make it a reality, and we’re still holding out hope Frohike will be found” Mulder said breaking the silence after a few minutes.

“That’s great” Scully replied smiling and lifting her head to look at Mulder, “we’ll have to catch up with him when we get back to the States eventually”.

“I like the sound of that” Mulder said leaning down to kiss her softly, “especially the ‘we’ part”.

\---------------------------------------------

News filtered through sporadically during the day, but Scully was grateful to find only one member of Mulder’s company had been injured during the initial assault. Also affording her the opportunity to ask the soldier about their progress, finding out just before he’d been injured they’d captured the area and taken 33 prisoners. Unfortunately he was also able to inform her that while the field medic was assessing him and prepping him to head back to base, word came through that another of the companies were conducting a patrol around the area and had encountered heavy small arms and mortar fire from the enemy.

It wasn’t until the end of her shift two days later that she learnt Mulder’s whole battalion had been relieved by another infantry division the previous day, and had fallen back a few miles, before continuing the attack the following morning. They’d made some gains early on before being hampered by intense artillery fire for the rest of the day. One member of Mulder’s battalion had been conducting a patrol during the day and ended up stuck, pinned down by cross-fire until night fall when he was able to return to the battalion, slightly injured by still alive. The following day they waited in reserve, while further orders came, before moving positions south around lunch for a surprise attack. The battalion capturing 2 miles of territory from the Germans by evening, and only suffering four casualties, one of which ended up in Scully’s care, her cleaning and dressing a laceration to his arm. Providing her with an opportunity to probe the injured soldier for more information about Mulder.

\---------------------------------------------

 _24 th February 1945 – _Bleialf, Germany

“How did it go?” Scully asked when Mulder arrived back to base from the front line, his division having been relieved by the 90th Infantry Division, as units within the army leap frogged each other, “are you alright?”

“Really well. Two days ago the infantry division ordered a motorised task force to work with us. The task force captured nearly three miles, four towns and around 300 prisoners in 24 hours. Allowing us to move positions in the cover of darkness and launch our attack to capture high ground and a town around half a mile away. We only hit moderate resistance from the enemy, and by 10:00 that night we’d achieved our objective” Mulder replied before continuing, “yesterday was pretty similar again. We gained over two miles in territory and a further three towns, before orders came through that we were going to be relieved”.

“Sounds like you’ve all be very busy” Scully said grasping his hand in hers, “and I’m glad we’ve only seen twenty of your entire division in our medical tent”.

“Yeah, see I don’t always get myself injured” Mulder replied proudly with a grin.

“No just most of the time” Scully said cheekily, squealing when Mulder swung her into his arms and replied “geez woman, you’ll be the death of me”.

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Reviews are much appreciated and for those of you who’d like I’ll be posting an NSFW chapter within the next 24 hours.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to BecksCosmos, and Sanjuktachatterjee dr_scully for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

_11 th March 1945 – _Welcherath, Germany

They spent the next ten days stationed at Bleialf, treating a further 26 patients, while Mulder’s battalion completed a second five day stint at the front line, before they headed east 22 miles to Nieder-Prüm. It was a only a short stint at the new location, five days in total, however in that time they treated 40 patients, and the soldiers were able to reorganize and gain moderate ground.

After their time in Nieder-Prüm, they moved over 80 miles east to Welcherath via motor convoy, where they took command of a captured German hospital, taking over treatment of the 98 enemy military patients in the area. They were also fortunate to be billeted in one of the town’s hotels, allowing them some creature comforts they had missed over the last couple of months.

“Come in” Scully said when she heard a knock at her door. She was laying on the bed, eyes closed, as she enjoyed the feeling of the first mattress she’d lain upon in over two months.

“You look comfy” Mulder commented chuckling at the sight when he came into the room, before closing the door and joining her on the bed.

“I am. This feels like heaven” Scully replied with a blissful smile gracing her face, before reaching out for his hand resting next to her and intertwining their fingers.

“It does, I haven’t felt this dry and warm in I don’t know how long” Mulder said running his thumb over the back of her hand. Scully humming in response.

“I was thinking since you have a day pass tomorrow, and I’m just going to be hanging around the base, that we could make a trip up to the Nürburgring, it’s only 4 miles north from here” Mulder suggested looking over at her.

“Yeah sure, that sounds like fun. It will be nice to get away from the base for a little bit” Scully replied opening her eyes and turning to look at him.

“Great, for now though, I think we should grab a nap together before dinner” Mulder said pulling her towards him so that her back was against his chest, and his right arm was draped over her waist.

“I like the way you think” Scully replied snuggling against him and lazily running her fingers over his arm atop her.

\---------------------------------------------

After breakfast the following morning Mulder and Scully, along with Ellen and a few other soldiers and nurses, made the 16 minute trek on their bicycles to the Nürburgring from their accommodation. It was still cold, hovering around freezing most days, but the blizzards and constant snow falls had reduced, so the bike ride wasn’t too hard.

“Wow its huge” Scully commented as they entered the premises and took in the sight of the 13 mile long track, some of it partly damaged from the recent conflict.

“Geez, we don’t have tracks like this back in New York” Mulder replied with a low whistle.

“Not enough space” One of the other soldiers also from New York added chuckling.

“Well we don’t have any cars, but how about we do a small race on our bikes?” One of the other soldiers proposed enthusiastically.

The women rolled their eyes at the boys, as they watched them exhaust themselves trying to outdo each other on a small portion of the ring, no one game enough to ride the full track.

“They still act like they’re five, don’t they?” Mary one of the nurses said chuckling.

“Yeah, but they are nice to look at” Ellen replied with a cheeky grin.

“You’re incorrigible” Scully said slightly whacking Ellen on the arm, although she didn’t disagree with her.

“Oh like you don’t think so too” Ellen replied teasingly, before causing Scully to blush and the group of women to burst into laughter as she added “you seem to forget that tent walls are made of flimsy thin material”.

“What?” Mulder asked confused as he came to a screeching stop near the women.

“You don’t want to know honey” Ellen replied laughing.

“Sometimes I really don’t get women” Mulder muttered to himself as he rode away.

\---------------------------------------------

 _16 th March 1945 – _Welcherath, Germany

They spent the rest of the day Scully had off traveling and exploring the immediate area and having an improvised picnic lunch, before the group headed back to town late in the afternoon as the sun began to set.

The following few days were relatively average as small missions to capture nearby territory were undertaken, while the hospital continued to treat the enemy casualties along with their own injured soldiers.

“What?” Mulder asked confused when he saw Scully running over to him with a grin on her face. He’d just gotten back from in which they

“Frohike was found a few days ago. He was being held as a prisoner of war by the Germans in a facility near Trier. Apparently he’s a bit battered and bruised, but alive and doing well. They’ve sent him to the closest field hospital to assess him and from there he’ll most likely board a ship home” Scully replied excitedly.

Mulder stood there for a moment shocked as he took in the news, before his shoulders sagged as he felt a weight lift off of him, “that’s fantastic news” he replied enveloping her in a hug.

“It is” Scully said returning his embrace, “I’ll write back to tell them we’re Frohike can write to, in order to contact you and I’ll also give them Byre’s details so that they can reunite” Scully said once they separated, handing him the letter and watching his face a picture of amazement, as he clutched her hand in his.

\---------------------------------------------

 _19 th March 1945 – _Welcherath, Germany

Unfortunately as the division’s missions in the immediate vicinity wound to a close, and all the enemy and allied patients had now been treated and evacuated to other medical facilities, the time came again for a change in positions, and this time Mulder and Scully would be split up, with Scully set to make a 260 mile journey the next day south to Kaiserslautern, Germany, while Mulder was headed 200 miles south east to Sprendlingen also in Germany.

“It’s okay, we’ll still write to each other and hopefully we’ll get posted together again” Mulder said as he was packing up his meagre belongings, noticing Scully had a forlorn look on her face. 

“I know, it’s just each time it seems to get harder to say goodbye” Scully replied sadly, part of her hating how the thought of being without him for a short while affected her so much.

“I know, but we’re in Germany now, surely it can’t be long until this war is over, and then we can go back to the States, and start our lives together there” Mulder said stopping what he was doing for a moment and taking her hand in his, pulling her over to sit on some nearby crates.

“I love you and I promise that soon we won’t have to be apart” Mulder said pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head.

“I love you too” Scully replied wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his embrace, “please come back to me in one piece”.

“I’ll try my best” Mulder said holding her tight to him.

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If you enjoyed the chapter I’d love to hear from you :) The next chapter will also be the last before the sequel.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to BecksCosmos, and Sanjuktachatterjee dr_scully for reviewing, and thank you to those of you who left kudos as well.
> 
> This is the final chapter of the story, thank you all for reading and coming along on this journey. Although this story is over though, there will be a sequel, the first chapter of which will be posted in two weeks around my usual posting time J
> 
> Warning: this chapter briefly mentions concentration camps, the holocaust and deaths that occurred there.
> 
> Chapter rating: T
> 
> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> All mistakes are my own. I hope you enjoy.

Over the next two months Scully spent around a week in Kaiserslautern, Eschwege, Meerane, Scheßlitz and Ingolstadt each, before heading to Nürnberg for the remainder of her time in service. Their duties during that time were relatively light with her platoon treating 114 patients over the five weeks. Mulder on the other hand travelled a different path, crossing the Rhine in late March 1945, and once the end of April was approaching the division was deep into the Bavarian region of Germany. Unfortunately while in the area they located a sub camp of the Dachau concentration camp near Haunstetten, around two hours south of Nürnberg. The horrors of what they found at the camp were hard for the soldiers to stomach let along comprehend, but they were able to liberate the remaining survivors by the 29th of April. Following the liberation the division was able to quickly cross southeast to capture the remainder of Bavaria, and by the 2nd of May the division had made it to a small town called Miesbach, slightly out from Munich where they were relived and transitioned to occupation duty.

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_25 th June 1945 - Nürnberg, Germany_

Mulder and Scully had been stationed together once again from the 7th of May in Nürnberg, Scully was working at the RAMPs Hospital in the city, a facility catering to the Repatriation, Evacuation and Disposition of Recovered Allied Military Personnel, while Mulder continued to complete occupation duties, which mainly consisted of patrols, manning border controls and stations, as well as maintaining checkpoints.

“Confirmation came through, tomorrow the army will drive us up to the north coast of France, and on the 27th we’ll get on a Navy ship so we can get to Southampton where a liberty cargo ship to New York will depart on the 30th” Mulder told Scully as he came racing up to her. She was just finishing her shift for the day and was grabbing a little bit of dinner. Luckily these days the number of injured soldiers had dramatically decreased in the area after the surrender of Germany on the 8th of May, which meant since their arrival they’d treated around 125 patients, most of whom were allied prisoners of war.

“That’s great, Major Devan said he was going to make an announcement in half an hour about the next plans for the field hospital, he must be about to relay that message” Scully said excitedly, “in a little over a week and half then we’ll be home, I’ll have to send Mom a telegram so she knows when we get back”.

“I should probably do the same. I guess that means you’ll have to meet my parents” Mulder replied grimacing at the thought of having Scully meet his Mother who loved to find fault in any girl Mulder brought home who wasn’t part of New York’s elite.

“How about we wait until I’m settled in New York before we go doing family introductions. We have a lot to figure out once we get back to the States” Scully said sensing his apprehension, and honestly the idea of having to go through the process of introducing each other to their parents scared her slightly, it was going to be a change not being in the bubble World War Two had provided them.

“Sounds like a plan. Oh I forgot to tell you, another letter from Frohike and Byres arrived this morning” Mulder said changing the subject, before continuing enthusiastically “they’re both doing really well and their recoveries are progressing nicely. They’ve also managed to secure a premises in the Bronx to produce their newspaper. It’s really small but they expect to have their first issue out by the 4th of July”.

“Wow, they’ve managed to do a lot in a short time” Scully replied surprised but pleased for the duo, “we’ll have to check it out when we get back”.

\---------------------------------------------

_26 th June 1945 – Caen, France_

“Cheers to the end of the war” Ellen said as she raised her glass to the group around her. She along with Mulder, Scully and some of their fellow soldiers and nurses heading to Southampton tomorrow were all celebrating their impending move home, in small bar on the French coast.

“Cheers” the group chorused, clinking their glasses together and falling into animated chatter.

Mulder and Scully sat side by side, as close as two people could on separate chairs, their hands intertwined, while Mulder sipped his beer and Scully drank her glass of wine, chatting quietly to each other.

“Come on love birds, let’s celebrate” Ellen said suddenly hopping out of her chair and grabbing Scully’s hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. Scully looked back at Mulder, with a pleading look in her eyes to come and rescue her, but he just grinned and raised his glass in response.

After a couple of songs she was finally able to escape Ellen as the music slowed down, making her way back over to Mulder her face flushed “come on, dance with me” she said holding out her hand.

The pair quickly moved to the middle of the dance floor, their faces beaming as they swayed to the music.

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_30 th June 1945 – Southampton, United Kingdom _

“I can’t believe we’re finally leaving, it feels strange to know we’re going back home after over a year of being involved in the conflict. We’d only just met this time last year” Scully said slightly surprised once her words registered in her brain, as she and Mulder made their way to the bow of the ship, before the cargo ship left the dock.

“I know, it feels like a lifetime ago. Since then we’ve travelled across France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany, dealt with blizzards, freezing temperatures and snow, as well as sweltering heat, mosquitoes and bees, all while fighting the Germans. During that time I also fell in love with my best friend, and somehow got lucky because she loves me too” Mulder replied as they reached their destination, a number of men and women who were also heading home, were milling around the bow waiting for the ship to set sail.

“She definitely does” Scully said reminiscing and stepping up to the railing and gracing him with a beaming smile, before adding “so much happened in that period of time. I’m glad at the end of all of this we’re going back together”.

“Me too. Let’s go home” Mulder said kissing the top of her head as the boat set sail and the pair watched the shoreline disappear. Mulder standing behind Scully, his arms wrapped around her middle, while she rested her hands atop his.

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The end.


End file.
